August 4, 2006

When is the Right Time to Fight This War?

On Tuesday, I reported that Lance Corporal Higgins Jr USMC was killed in combat in Al Anbar province Iraq, what I didn’t report at the time was that I wholly expected our local newspaper to once again run a series of articles and opinion pieces crying that they hope this loss won’t be in vain for they fought “The Wrong War at The Wrong Time.”

True to form, that has happened and today of all days, they run the opinion piece that takes the cake. Joe Volz, local democratic shill, writes that Lance Corporal Higgins Jr., while he died heroically, he died in vain, not because of his actions but because of the actions of his leaders and country. He died according to Mr. Volz, fighting “the wrong war at the wrong time.”

Since Mr. Volz has been very vocal about his lack of support for the mission of the troops, he’s one of those “I support the troops but not their mission” people; I have a question for him. If this is the wrong war at the wrong time, when is or was the appropriate time to fight this war?


Should President Bill Clinton have fought this war? I honestly think so, he half-heartedly sent planes to bomb chemical factories, but not because he believed in the mission but because he needed to change the topic of conversation in Washington at the time. Of course this really didn’t help our standing in the eyes of the Muslim world did it? In fact it seemed to say to them, if we strike out against the US all they will do is drop a couple of bombs and that’s it. Not very effective was it? In fact when the going got tough, he pulled out and empowered every two-bit terrorist in the world against the US.

Should President George H. Bush have fought this war? Again, I think so, we were already in a war with Iraq, and in the vein of appeasing world opinion we only did it half way. That obviously didn’t do well for us in the opinion of the Muslim world did it, and once again it showed the Muslim world that we weren’t committed in our cause.

Should President Ronald Reagan have fought this war? When Muslim Terrorists blew up the Marine Barracks in Beirut, it gave us the perfect opportunity to go to war and fight the Muslim extremists. But as was the case with American Policy we worried more about world opinion that safeguarding our own citizens.

Or should President Jimmy Carter have fought this war? For over 400 days American Embassy workers were held captive by the now President of Iran and his revolutionary fighters. Sure a rescue mission was launched but it failed miserably in the desert and in the first instance of America fighting back against Islamic terrorists, the world saw how weak America had become after its forced failure in Vietnam, all thanks to people like Mr. Volz who once again thinks that it’s the wrong war at the wrong time.

Or is Mr. Volz, and the rest of the “I support the troops but not the mission” crowd really saying that they believe some future generation should fight this war, and we should stall for as long as possible until that generation comes along? I wouldn’t be surprised if this is exactly what they mean, for every policy their party produces simply shifts the cost to some future generation, it never solves the problem, and it just makes it harder for future American’s to survive since they are already starting behind the gun.

The problem Mr. Volz isn’t that this is the wrong war at the wrong time; it’s the fact that you are stuck in a time where responsibility means nothing. The young men and women volunteering to fight for this country are more mature than you will ever be; they recognize the value of “drawing a line in the sand” and saying enough is enough. World opinion be damned, because world opinion has never made us safer or secure, it only deferred the cost to a future generation, and its time we stop shifting the responsibility to someone other than ourselves.

Mr. Volz ends his column with this line: “Let us hope that Cpl. Higgins' death and the deaths of so many fine Marines and soldiers will convince our president that is time to stop spilling American blood in Iraq.” I have news for you Mr. Volz, it isn’t the President that is spilling American blood in the desert of Iraq, it’s the enemy, and they are empowered by your feeble whining.

Your talking points, the same points used by Mr. Kerry in his failed attempt at leading this country are tired and old, but more to the point, they have been proven wrong by those young men and women you demean in your column, for they are proving every day that the prospect of freedom and democracy are alive and well in the world, even without your help.

Today at 1100 a Marine will be laid to rest, he did his duty despite your cowardice and he believed in his mission. He is a finer gentleman that you will ever be, for he realized that shifting the responsibility of defending this country and extending the leaf of freedom to another people to some future generation is not only wrong, its criminal. You may speak eloquently about supporting the troops, but we really know what is in your heart and we can do with out your support.

I’ll end with my original question: If this isn’t the right time, when is it the right time for America to stand on its own and stop worrying about world opinion, when is it okay for a people to defend itself from aggression? If in your heart you think that time is never, then I fear for the future of this country. If however, you are like Lance Corporal Higgins, Jr. USMC, then I know this country is on the right track.
Ed Note: Updated Sunday 8/6 for some grammatical corrections.

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