by David Pipkin

Created on: March 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

The scenario in Iraq is difficult to predict because the mission of our troops is essentially twofold. First, we must fight an enemy that hides among the citizenry. Second, we are trying to be friendly to the citizenry. In many ways, this mission is placing unprecedented demands on our military men and women.

I believe we ought to be dropping leaflets to let the citizens of Iraq know that if they are anywhere around our enemies, they face a strong possibility of sharing their fate. We are not anything like the terrorists who do not discriminate between targeting civilians and targeting our military. I believe we have the ability to let the citizens know our good intentions while still fearing our might, as they should. If they know that we will not target citizens, but we are there to kill the enemy, they might even be more cooperative and proactive in taking control of their land from the terrorists.

As it is, this war is every bit psychological as it is physical. This is not just a war of force - it is a war of wills. It is a war for the hearts and minds of a people who have terrorists living among them, acting in the name of a belief system they both share. While many Muslims do not go so far as to become the mujahideen, they do respect the mujahideen. The citizens may not agree whole-heartedly with the actions of the terrorists, but that does not mean that they are without sympathy for the terrorists. After all, the recruiting ground for radical Islam is Islam itself.

Understanding the nuances of our mission in Iraq, it is absolutely puzzling to witness the treasonous actions of the democrats (along with a few republicans) in Congress, along with a liberal mainstream media. We have troops on the ground, in harm's way, spilling American sweat and blood in an effort to win this war, and we have Congressmen standing on the floors of the House and Senate and saying we are losing - we need to leave.

This has happened before. It was the democrats who cut the funding to the Viet Nam war. As a result, we had the Killing Fields in Cambodia. If you go to the war museum in North Viet Nam, they cite the anti-war movement in American as undoubtedly the most important factor in their victory.

The liberals are now attempting to do the same thing in Iraq. It is appalling - in a war where the psychology is every bit as important as the weaponry, liberals have acted to break our resolve to continue the effort. Before we had even gone into Iraq, there were Congressmen such as

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