McCain: Support our Troops and their Mission

I am including some pictures in hopes that some people who have forgotten then recent past will remember why! This same strategy has been worn out by supporters of the war, but do you remember what happened last time U.S. soil was attacked (one of the fifty states, not an embassy)? I think we handle it a little better this time, you know precision guided nuke free weapons. I know that Iraq was not directly involved in 9/11, but they could be involved in 9/11/09 if we give up now. Compare this war with the past wars we have been involved in; compare the numbers, reasons for going, and think about the possible future of the Iraq people compared to the Saddam era. Things have been handled wrong, and that is slowly changing. Leaving Iraq in shambles and with only a half ready government structure will only give the next tyrant an open invitation. Whether we should have "started the war" or not is no longer an issues because that is history, but shouldn't we at least finish it the right way. If you think it will be better for either side for the United States to pack up and leave tomorrow please tell me why.

The following is part of an email/article from John McCain.

......At the beginning of last year, we were engaged in a great debate about what to do in Iraq. Four years of mismanaged war had brought us almost to the point of no return. Sectarian violence in Iraq was spiraling out of control, life had become a struggle for survival, and a full-scale civil war seemed almost unavoidable. Al Qaeda in Iraq was on the offensive and entire Iraqi provinces were under the control of extremists.

However, rather than retreat from Iraq and face the terrible consequences that would ensue, we chose to change strategies and turn things around. I was proud to be an outspoken advocate for this change in strategy and endured much criticism from members of both parties. As I've said time and time again, I'd rather lose a campaign than lose a war.

Never despair," Winston Churchill once said. And we did not despair. We were tested, and we rose to the challenge. Some political leaders close their eyes to the progress that the surge has made possible, and want only to argue about the past. The question for the next president is not about the past, but about the future and how to secure it.

........The American people deserve the truth from their leaders. Doing the right thing in the heat of a political campaign is not always the easiest thing. But when 4,000 Americans have given their lives so that America does not suffer the worst consequences of our failure in Iraq, it is a necessary thing. In such a grave matter, we must put the nation's interests before our own ambitions....

John McCain