Fatwollit, I just want to say that I admire your knowledge and thoughtful posting on both forums.

You make it sound as though finding Osama Bin Laden, beating Al Quada and the Taliban on their turf is easy and it's all Bushes fault for not achieving this victory years ago because he directed the military into Iraq. Let me just say and as you know our military has been in Afghanistan during this period of time and they are still on a mission to bring Bin Laden to justice and to destroy Al Quada and the Taliban. In WWII the USA faught on many fronts around the world, what makes you think because we went into Iraq that our effort was somehow less in Afghanistan? You do understand the history of Afghanistan and the terrain there right? You do understand a force necessary to put down a regime that had a military ranked in the top ten in the world would require a larger force than a country like Afghanistan where the enemy is difficult to find.

We are also as you know fighting Al Quada in Iraq. This is a battle that may go on for a very long time. Just because it's unpopular dosn't mean it's a fight that must not take place or be won. You have to admire a president who has had enough courage to stand up for doing the right thing in fighting global terrorism and to attempt to foster a democracy in a very hostile region of the world. What we are seeing unfortunately is just like in Viet Nam the country and the world is not united behind the effort and therefore the enemy has hope and hangs on to the belief that allthough they can't beat the US on the battlefield, they can win in the press and in public opinion the longer they hold out. So I ask you is Terorism and evil worth fighting in this world anymore?

Yes, the allied forces of those countries you mentioned helped put down the Nazis at a tremendous cost to human life especially by the Russians. Before WWII the USA was a country that had a relatively small military and were somwhat isolated from the problems in the world. We were not prepared for WWII just as European countries sat idle while evil built the finest weapons known to man for that time. As a result it took millions of lives and a few years to build and equip a military that could defeat the Nazis and the Japanese. Without our efforts the war would have probably gone the other way. My concern is that we are looking at a world today where countries seem to be afraid or unwilling to fight terrorism and other evil in the world. Frances position is particularly troubling with the history our countries have. They are content with ignoring these problems very much like the USA leading up to WWII. My point is that by taking on the terrorists and other evil as unpopular and difficult as it is will probably be much harder with a much higher cost to human life and money in the future if left alone to build. I think the USA learned a lesson in WWII and since then have built a military that is the finest equiped in the world just so that we never get caught again in as vulnerable position as we were during WWII. More men were killed and injured in some battles in WWII than have been killed or wounded in the entire Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Also the war is tough because we're trying to fight an enemy that looks like civilians and hides amoungst civilians while we try to not kill any civilians. I think the 1960's changed this country and not for the better on most fronts. We have a country that's drifting to the left there is a real divide in the direction the country should go. If we become more isolated and ignore the worlds evil and problems as the Europeans seem to be doing, then what happens when evil builds capabilities to desroy on a massive scale? That's my concern that the United States, the last great hope for freedom and democracy in this world, is not united and is becoming more liberal and tolerant of evil not only in the world but in our society as well. One only has to look at the subhuman evil in the far left to see what we may become in time as we drift farther and farther in that direction as a society.

Sorry about the long post.

All the best,

Steve