W. Alan Beckelheimer "Something To Think About ..." Published June 2, 2004

Our soldiers are fighting in Iraq for liberty and justice

With an election year once again upon us, we regular citizens are unavoidably inundated with daily political blurbs, mudslinging, fact spinning, etc. Whether one leans to the left or to the right, being able to accurately examine and represent the history of our nation and its actions is of the utmost importance. So in an effort to clear up some of the issues that those of us responsible enough to vote should weigh in this year's upcoming elections, I would like to share some facts for your consideration.

Ever since the war in Iraq began, a prevailing attitude among some liberals is that the entire "War on Terror" is a mere façade for American Imperialism and our never ending pursuit of oil. Other liberals blame the president for pursuing unfinished business from his father's administration, i.e. spending billions of dollars and costing American lives in order to fulfill some personal vendetta. Still others have the opinion that President Bush is the worst president in history and an incompetent individual as evidenced by his mismanagement of the war. The disturbing facts of the accusations are that many of the people throwing stones are less than perfect themselves, yet their wrongdoings seem tolerable and attributable to human nature while those leveled at the president are pursued with a fervor that could rival the Spanish Inquisition.

This realization inspired me to do some research into America's past wars and contemporary political figures. What I discovered is as follows.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us at Pearl Harbor: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost at an average of 112,500 per year.

President Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost at an average of 18,333 per year.

John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.

Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton went to war in Bosnia without consent from the United Nations or France, a member of the Security Council with veto power. Bosnia never attacked us.

Sudan offered Osama bin Laden's capture or assassination to President Clinton on three separate occasions, yet nothing was done by the United States. I need not remind you that Osama bin Laden is the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, the bombing of the USS Cole, countless other atrocities and al-Qaida.

In the two short years since terrorists violated our soil and attacked our country, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured Saddam Hussein, a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We've lost approximately 800 soldiers in the War on Terror so far, an average that pales in historical comparison to other conflicts in which America has become involved. President Bush and his administration did all of this without allowing the occurrence of another terrorist attack at home.

Complaints about how long the war is taking also deserve some delving into as well.

It took less time for coalition forces to liberate Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian Compound. That was a 51 day operation. The United States has been looking for evidence of weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons for a lesser amount of time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the famous Rose Law firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Teddy Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to liberate Iraq than it did to count the punch ballots in 2000's Florida election.

My point in relating these facts to you is simple. No matter who occupies the office of the presidency, or any elected office for that matter, they will be human. We as humans are prone to making mistakes, both in character decisions and judgments. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were unprecented in their volume of destruction and their capacity to change the way America functions as a society. Who is to say that Al Gore or anyone else could have handled the situation better? Claims like these are nothing more than speculation.

Indeed this column my isn't my attempt to blow the war trumpet, thump my chest and pledge my loyalty to a cause regardless of the results. No I'm not urging you to vote Republican or Democrat in the next election, although I do strongly urge you to vote.

My goal is to encourage people to fully understand the situation our nation is involved in and get them to understand that whether or not we as a citizenry support this war in which we are involved, it is our duty to support those men and women fighting for the freedoms we hold so dear to our hearts. Terrorists and their ilk have a hatred for democracy that is only rivaled by our love for it. Our military performs to the best of their ability to stave off this newest threat to democracy and as humans they have made and will make mistakes. But these mistakes should not be reduced to mere casualty reports, damage reports and prison abuse scandals. No their goal is a more noble one, freedom of democracy and protection for human rights. These ideals were just as important to our forefathers (as evidenced in The Federalist Papers) as they should be today. These men and women don't deserve to have their daily struggle for life in Iraq scrutinized to the point that they become pawns in a presidential election. No, they should be honored and supported until our conflict against terror ends and our troops are allowed to come back home knowing that they have fought for liberty and justice, two tenets of American civilization that help make us what we are today.

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W. Alan Beckelheimer is a Crossville Chronicle staffwriter. His column appears periodically in the Chronicle.