WWII and the War on Terror

I watched Edwards vs. Cheney last night. I like watching the debates for myself because the minute the debate is over the political operatives for each party begin claiming victory and calling their faithful to the Kerry and Bush altars for prayer. When the spin starts I check out.

My take is that it was a draw. Neither one clearly "won" the debate. Neither one flew off the handle and shrieked or screamed. Neither one mopped up the floor with the other. Edwards made good points as did Cheney. Great.

What I actually was thinking about (yes, my brain does this all the time) while I watched was World War II. I kept thinking about how different WWII would be if it were being fought today. Edwards insistence that things are going terribly in Iraq and Afghanistan seem ridiculous in light of the second World War. (Yes, I know there are very different circumstances in the War on Terror and World War II.) Our young men were being blown apart and shot and tortured and frozen on the other side of the world during WWII. Thousands and thousands of them each week came back to the states in coffins and thousands and thousands more were buried in allied countries. Thousands of our finest young men lost legs and arms and eyes. The grief of the individual families and the suffering of the soldiers did not override our conviction that the war HAD to be won. We had to win because we had been attacked on our own soil. We had to win because it was clear to most Americans that the world would not be the same if the Axis powers were allowed to fulfill their evil plans. War, in it's bloodiest, filthiest, most sickening reality had to be endured to protect the America that American's love.

On September 11th we were once again attacked on our own soil. The attackers, as you know were not wearing a uniform of another country's military. So, we can't just go to war with a country, as in WWII. We have to name our war and prosecute this war differently than WWII. But the fact that war, any war, will be bloody and horrifying and will cost young lives will not change. Americans who expect that freedom can come to Iraq or Afghanistan in a matter of months without bloodshed, without our enemies putting up a fight to the death, have completely unreasonable expectations. Our enemies, call them Al Queada or terrorists or Muslim extremists, realize that this is war. They have prepared to shed blood and to sacrifice everything, including their lives to accomplish their evil plans. We must realize that if they are allowed to succeed that America will no longer exist as we know it today.

It seems ridiculous to me that two men who wish to lead this country would be balking at 1066 (best count as of today) young American lives lost. If the existence of America as a free land, a "shining city on a hill", is what is at stake, what price would we pay? If the lives of our children and our grandchildren are what we are fighting for what could possibly persuade us to surrender? Not 1000 flag draped coffins. Not 10,000 flag draped coffins. If you can imagine a point at which you would withdraw from the war on this enemy than you do not understand what they wish to do to us. If you can imagine a point at which you stop fighting then you cannot know what this enemy would do to you, your children, your family.

I mourn every young soldier who gives his or her life to protect my freedom. I celebrate the sacrifice that those soldiers have made to protect my children and your children and our very way of life. They join a long list of patriots who have given their lives to keep evil empires from changing the world for the worse. Do not dishonor their sacrifice by surrendering to the enemy they opposed.

I know that there were Americans who did not agree with our actions in World War II. History has shown us that we did the right thing. There are Americans who do not agree with our actions in this war. It's not unpatriotic to disagree with this war. It's unaware. History will be written by the survivors of this war. Hopefully, that history will be written in English.