So angry

Today I just don't know how to reconcile my anger over the atrocities committed by our enemies with the fact that most Americans want us to up and leave and allow mass slaughter to occur.

There has been consistent reporting that things have and are changing for the better in Anbar, Baquba (North of Baghdad) and Babil (South of Baghdad.) But instead of focusing on these successes, where does the media focus? On those towns where al-Qaeda has now run to since they can't stand up to us or the Iraqi forces. Yes, if we focus on securing Baghdad, it, by definition, means that if more vulnerable towns are attacked, we can't protect them. That is the way it works, and that represents a major change in tactics, although most people can't appreciate that.

I've hesitated from writing much about recent events in Baquba, since they are simply too disturbing for most people, but if you want to read what has been happening, on the ground, from one of the few reporters actually with the troops during the ongoing Arrowhead Ripper, read Michael Yon's dispatches.Warning: While true, these reports are graphic and disturbing

Congress is calling for a change in strategy, but that has already occurred. I didn't leave my wife and kids to have the rug pulled out from under us. There is a significant change in our tactics, and if you can't see it, that is only because you haven't don't your homework.

I simply can't reconcile the desire to leave Iraq with the desire to intervene in Darfur, or the intervention in both Bosnia and Kosovo (I served in Bosnia and have heard the horrible stories and seen the killing fields, nonetheless I am proud that America was able to stop the genocide there.) But if we leave Iraq, there will be a massive civil war on the scale to make Rwanda look like little league killings.

We are making progress in bringing people to our side, here is a quote from an insurgent who is now working with us to hunt and kill al-Qaeda:

“I ask one thing,” and now I paraphrase Ali’s words: “After the Iraqi Army and Police take hold and the security forces are ready, we want a schedule for the leaving of the American forces.”

This is not unreasonable, and shows it possible to defeat al-Qaeada, AND leave Iraqi. As Michael Yon points out, Iraqis are finally starting to understand that we aren't there for their oil, and we certainly aren't there for their land.
The people we are fighting are nearly inhuman - if you dare say one man's terrorist is anther's freedom fighter, I will beat you down... There is nothing that justifies killing children because they run to American troops, cooking children and feeding them to their parents, decapitating little kids in front of their parents because they didn't support al-Qaeda. It makes me want to throw up, the more I read about the way al-Qaeda has targeted Iraqi children, the more I want to go fight.

If you are the type of person who gets upset over Abu-Gharib or Guantanamo, ask yourselves why is it you aren't bothered by the brutality of our enemies? People have criticized the U.S. for not being more active against Nazi Germany when the Holocaust was evident, but most of you are willing to abandon the Iraqi people. How do we respond to this kind of intolerance?

Evil must be confronted, through every means necessary. Sometimes that will include the use of force, no matter how repugnant that may be to some people.

"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truths have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms."
-R.A. Heinlein

And lastly a quote for all those in the country that feel free to criticize without actually risking anything themselves. What gives you the right? Because you won the lottery and were born American? Look in the mirror and answer to yourself what you have done to earn that blessing.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while Daring Greatly so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt