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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Add your comments on this week's "What is the Deal?" column at Uncle Hiram's Bulletin Board. July 27, 2003 What is the Deal with Post-War Iraq? By Jan A. Larson I find it excruciating when seemingly every morning I bring up one of the news websites and read where yet another US soldier has been killed in Iraq. Critics of the war in Iraq are pointing to these casualties and shouting "quagmire." The Democratic presidential candidates are using every setback in Iraq to attack the President and the operation in Iraq. While it pains every clear-thinking American to hear of another casualty it is important to keep in mind that the war in Iraq is not complete and the larger war on terrorism will not be complete for some time to come. As the President has stated on more than one occasion, the war on terrorism will be long and difficult and it will come with a price. Saddam Hussein's regime may rightfully be classified as one of the most brutal and tyrannical in history. In slightly more than four months, the United States' military, along with coalition forces, have dismantled his regime and have gone about reconstructing the nation with the loss of slightly more than 150 American servicemen and women in combat. To put this in perspective, there were over 47,000 American casualties in Viet Nam, over 53,000 in World War I and over 291,000 in World War II. There are on average over 100 deaths per day on America's highways! The numbers are of little comfort to the families that have lost a loved one in Iraq, but a quagmire? Hardly. Naysayers are quick to point out that Saddam Hussein is (apparently) still at large and are vocal in their criticism of the post-war effort in locating the deposed dictator. The deaths of his sons last week should be indicative that the noose is closing on Saddam Hussein, but it seems nothing can satisfy the naysayers. Again, some perspective is in order. It took authorities over a month to apprehend serial killers John Lee Malvo and John Allen Muhammad despite the fact that they continued their shooting spree during that time. The body of former Congressional intern, Chandra Levy, was not found for over a year following her disappearance. Jimmy Hoffa has yet to be found. Saddam Hussein has apparently found sanctuary somewhere, likely within Iraq. When one man does not wish to be found in an area as large as Iraq, it follows that it may take a while to locate him. I am confident that in the end, he will be located, as were his sons. Critics on the left continue to insist that the United States went to war in Iraq under false pretenses based on the infamous, but technically truthful, 16 word statement in the President's State of the Union address. Once again, let's put this in perspective. Even if the intelligence that the President cited were incorrect, would that have changed the decision to go to war with Iraq? No. Nothing that has happened or will happen in Iraq will change the fact that the elimination of Saddam Hussein's regime was the right thing to do. The apparent chaos in Iraq since the end of "major combat" operations ceased on May 1 was largely unavoidable although it is easy in hindsight to say that some things might have been done differently. Critics point to the problems encountered on a daily basis ignoring the fact that Saddam's regime fell with startling little resistance. Once the first shot is fired, war never goes according to plan. As Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz recently stated, "It was difficult to imagine before the war that the criminal gang of sadists and gangsters who have run Iraq for 35 years would continue fighting, fighting what has sometimes been called a guerilla war." There are competing interests in Iraq from the Iraqi citizens who want nothing more than to life in peace and freedom, to the Baathist loyalists and foreign infiltrators bent on driving U. S. forces out of the country. We cannot become weak-kneed at this point or the war is effectively lost. Critics will always find something to criticize, but this war was just and right and the world is a better place today following the elimination of Saddam Hussein's regime. Let's commit, as has the President, to finishing the mission. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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