My, my, my. I really hope that Timothy Parker doesn’t know what I look like. After his parting shot about “fighting word[s]” I fear Mr. Parker may put down his poison pen in favor of an upper cut. Who said liberals weren’t tough?

But, remembering that liberals and Democrats are very sensitive souls, let me clarify my comment in question. When I said it was “cowardly” to refer to “deployment,” I was referring specifically to Democratic politicians who used the term to disguise their true intention of “withdrawal” and/or “cutting and running.” Clear enough?

Okay, to Mr. Parker’s (and others) next point, which is that I should put my money where my mouth is and sign up if I’m so gung ho about Iraq. The corollary to that is that unless you’ve had the distinction to serve, you shouldn’t even express an opinion, much less make decisions, about military matters. An interesting point, considering neither Woodrow Wilson nor FDR had military experience and managed to marshall our forces through both world wars. But, they were Democrats and we know how inconsistent Democrats are when it comes to applying their own rules to themselves.

On a more philosophical note, our country is founded on the principle of civilian control of the military. But if the Mr. Parkers of the world want to restrict military decision-making to active or retired military men only, let’s go ahead and chuck the Constitution and get on with instituting a military junta.

Speaking of military dictatorships, let’s discuss Saddam Hussein for a bit. In the post 9/11 world, is it not unreasonable to carefully monitor those states which give money, arms, and protection to not only al Qaeda, but to any terrorist group?

And, if that country has a history of acquiring, building, and using WMD, and has violated the terms of a cease-fire and will not allow the UN to conduct full and detailed inspections, and one which has definite links to terrorists in the form of payments to families of Palestinian suicide bombers and of hosting terrorists operatives like Abu Nidel, is it not reasonable to at least consider military action?

All the little, petty arguments about who knew what and what someone said about such and such cause us to lose the forest for the trees. Iraq was a dangerous, rogue state in clear violation of UN resolutions and a cease fire. Something had to be done, and we all know the UN wasn’t going to do it.

And let’s remember this other salient fact. The vast majority of Democrats, including Mr. Parker’s hero John Kerry, voted in approval of the war. And here’s another: we’re there now and must not surrender the country to terrorist/insurgents/Islamofascists. We owe it to our own security and that of the Iraqi people.

We are in a worldwide conflict with Islamic terrorists. These people seek to overthrow the West through their willpower, not their fire power. It is a battle of wills. If we cut and run in Iraq without a clear victory, the terrorists will consider it a victory and be emboldened to continue their attack on our will and resolve.

They’ve already succeeded in Spain and much of Europe, where politicians spend more time figuring out how to appease angry Muslim inhabitants while many of those same inhabitants work even harder to hatch plots to kill their well-meaning European neighbors.

So, Mr. Parker and all of you others, until you can demonstrate to me how pulling out of Iraq too soon will NOT be a disaster, please refrain from trying to bury the argument in minutiae of peripheral considerations.

Meantime, I will continue to ponder the wisdom of someone who holds up John Kerry as an exemplar of leadership. Here’s a guy who, once he served, came back and began denouncing his fellow soldiers and deliberately rode his resultant popularity to marriages with rich heiresses and a wonderful political career, which again seems to be characterized by his denigrating the military.

Hey, you go right ahead and attach your cart to that horse, but for me, I prefer a young marine just back from Iraq, who said that once we lost one soldier on the sands of Iraq, we became obligated to see the fight to the finish. I assume HIS opinion is legitimate on this matter.

Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.