Set a date

It took our armed forces just six weeks to win the war against Iraq and complete the mission as authorized by Congress. Three and a half years after freeing Iraqis from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, and after suffering 22,000 additional casualties, we are still waiting for the Iraqi people to use this gift of freedom to establish a democratic government. It is obvious that there is not now, and may never be, a unity among the Iraqis that will bring this into being. Our military fought and won an unnecessary war and were then put into a thankless position where our troops' presence can only encourage continued violence. We have been asking our young men and women to give their lives for no purpose. Iraq under Saddam was not a threat to our security. The new Iraq will be no more a threat than the old. We must end this senseless sacrifice and declare a date for our departure. The factions in Iraq have a choice. Establish a democracy through negotiations or create a dictatorship through civil war. But it will be their civil war. They will have to fight it without us; we have already experienced that nightmare. Leonard Satz, Blackwood - Published in the Courier Post, October 9, 2006