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2 plans for Iraq

It takes commitment to build democracy

After four years in Iraq, what have we gained?

As we enter the fifth year of this conflict, much of the talk is of loss, but it is important to understand what we’ve reaped from our efforts. We should honor the price paid by acknowledging the accomplishments and opportunities created by those who have sacrificed and suffered. These insights will encourage us to complete what was begun.

First, we have prevented a second Sept. 11-style attack. As 9/11 becomes history rather than memory for many people, they forget that nearly every terrorism and foreign policy analyst predicted another attack within a few years as a near certainty, and thought a nuclear attack very likely. Few predict that now, and it is because of our actions in Iraq. By bringing the fight to the Middle East, we’ve occupied not only al-Qaida but the funds and manpower of other extremist financiers and planners. It is much easier, and more militarily sound, to defend your country by taking the fight to the enemy than it is to turn your own society into an armed camp. Both the military and the American public can be justifiably proud of this accomplishment.

Second, and far more importantly, we’ve enacted a strategy to defeat the source of the threat. That source is Islamic fascists and their oppression of their own people through dictatorial governments. Had we stopped after Afghanistan, that source would have been untouched. Lack of freedom brings poverty, and poverty brings desperation and hate. Dictators use the West as a scapegoat, blaming us for their people’s poverty to help keep their citizens from rebelling. They warp religious teachings and combine them with this desperation to create weapons out of naive young men with no opportunities for a happy life. Iraq offers a way out for the entire region.

Democracy in Iraq will bring freedom and, in time, wealth and opportunity. Iraq’s location is strategically ideal, bordering nearly all other Middle East countries with varying degrees of dictatorship. The young people in those countries have seen the Iraqis voting, and in time they will begin to ask, “Why not us?” As Iraq’s prosperity grows, neighboring citizens will demand equal freedoms.

The extremists know this, and they fear it. They fear their own people learning that there is an alternative to poverty and dogma. Make no mistake: They have made Iraq a front line in this war because they are afraid. That is a real gain we should acknowledge and celebrate at the same time we honor any losses.

Finally, while we are bringing fear to those who would use it against civilians, we are freeing our own civilians from fear. Most Americans do not feel threatened by the fascists that send young men to die here in Iraq, and that is a good thing. We should be glad that our own countrymen are so unaffected by this war that they question its necessity, because it means we’re doing the job they pay us to do on the front line.

Those of us currently serving have a duty to inform the public on what we are doing, the importance of staying until the mission is complete, and the disastrous consequences if they withdraw us prematurely. One means at our disposal is the Appeal for Courage at http://appealforcourage.org. We would ask all of you to sign it to communicate our desire to stay in Iraq until the Iraqi military and police are capable of defending their own country. At that time, there will be a free country where none has ever existed. We will be able to look at that new democracy and proudly say, “See that? Those people are free because of us. We helped create that.”

This anniversary is a time when we should recognize that we have gained much. By remaining steadfast, we will gain much more.

—       Jason Nichols and Dave Thul

Nichols is a Navy lieutenant serving as an information professional with Multi-National Forces-Iraq in Baghdad. His e-mail address is jason@appealforcourage.org. Thul is a staff sergeant with the Minnesota National Guard; he is serving with the 34th Infantry Division, conducting convoy operations from Asad, Iraq. His e-mail address is dave@appealforcourage.org.

Immediate withdrawal is best way to support troops

How do I serve the military and my nation with integrity as both an active-duty airman and an American citizen? Are they mutually exclusive endeavors? I don’t think so.

My moral and ethical conscience and obligations are guiding me in speaking out. They are also guiding me in faithfully and proudly serving my country and my Air Force. I’m proud of my service and fully support the Air Force mission. I’m also a big proponent of “Let’s wrap it up in Iraq — as in, ‘the sooner, the better.’”

That’s why I support the Appeal for Redress, which calls on Congress to bring a prompt ending to the war in Iraq. Some people surely think I’ve lost my mind. But here’s where I’m coming from: I’ve never believed that the conventional military admonition to “do as we say or get out of the way” is always the answer. That line of thinking can get us into a big jam and keep us floundering around in a mess, like Iraq.

Appealing to Congress for withdrawal from Iraq doesn’t mean I don’t believe in our mission as an Air Force to support the war. As a total military team of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, we have a huge responsibility to each other in a variety of missions. I’m deeply committed and dedicated to our Air Force and our people. That’s why I’m speaking out while on active duty and not running for cover into retirement.

I’m also troubled by the generic “support the troops” mantra. It often seems like a cheerleading campaign that does nothing to actually support them, such as making sure those who get the crap knocked out of them over there are truly well cared for. And the ultimate support is to get them home and out of harm’s way as soon as possible. For the sake of their families, we should move even more quickly to get out of Iraq.

The human costs of the Iraq conflict continue to mount to a staggering level of tragedy and grief. I cannot quietly watch as things drag on and deteriorate indefinitely, and more people die or are maimed for life. We need more than car magnets or dutiful silence.

Those service members who have signed the Appeal for Redress (http://www.appealforredress.org) have struggled with a serious and troubling patriotic dilemma. These people have been to Iraq multiple times. They know the real deal. They are compelled by their moral and ethical convictions to exercise their rights as service members and American citizens.

Yet, ironically, those who are active participants in the defense of our democracy may also find themselves taking friendly fire from those who don’t know the truth and have misinterpreted this noble act of patriotism.

—       Jeff Slocum

The writer is an Air Force chief master sergeant with 21 years on active duty. He’s served in Texas, Arizona, Montana, Florida, Korea, Europe, Southwest Asia and Honduras, and is stationed in Fayetteville, N.C.