God bless our troups
by George Van Cleave

He told me when his humvee was blown up the first time he expected it to be like in the movies, but it wasn't like that at all.

A low-pitched sound, like an organ in church was followed by compression, then smoke and dust filled the area. When the vehicle lifted up, as the platoon leader he immediately used his vibration-controlled communication device to order suppressing fire from the three Bradley Fighting Vehicles under his command.

He told me of three other bombings of his vehicles before he stopped talking about it at all. He told me of hand-to-hand combat with Syrians in close quarters, and brought home to me the knife one Syrian lost to him. He told me of the cunning methods the foreign terrorists used to kill Iraqi and American soldiers and marines.

He told me of his victories, and how his company defeated the murdering terrorists at every turn. He told me of the progress he was making with the leaders of the towns in the Sunni Triangle. He told me of how he and a few of his men would go out at night and hunt terrorists as they planted their deadly bombs. He told me of the 120 degree days and the enormous mosquitoes on the Euphrates.

Then he told me of a change in engagement rules. After Hadifa, he was ordered to hold sensitivity classes with his men on the days he wasn't being blown up by murderers with no rules. He told me of the threat of prison time if any innocents were killed as the Muslim cowards hid among the women and children. He told me of the new dangers he and his men were placed in, and how terrorists were emboldened even more because of American political correctness.

He told me how humbled he was to come home to his family, when others he served with did not. He is a volunteer American combat soldier; an Army Ranger and a recipient of The Bronze Star. He is also my child, 1st Lt. Jeff Van Cleave, and will return to Iraq for his round two in August 2007.

As you can tell, Iraq is very, very real to some of us. The families of the fallen and injured heroes in our area also know all too well how real Iraq is, and are deserving of all our prayers.

Americans should be screaming from their rooftops for victory in Iraq as it is the main battlefield of World War III. Instead, we point fingers of blame and complain how weary we are of this needless war. After victory we can blame and punish, because after all, that's what Americans do best.

We listen to NBC tell us how we are losing a battle we should have never entered. We read in our newspapers of how Bush lied about Saddam's WMDs and the threat he posed to America.

My son will argue that "no WMD" theory.

I wonder if the Bush haters among us ever think about where we would be had we left Iraq alone. Granted, we have lost over 3,000 American heroes in Iraq, and many more to injury, but how many Americans may have died here at home if Saddam had been allowed to recover from sanctions?

Does anyone really doubt the evilness of this now deceased tyrant, and his hatred of America?

Does anyone really believe he would not have joined forces with al-Qaida or another terrorist faction?

Remember, Saddam invaded Kuwait, plundered her treasures and raped her girls, then burned the country as he left. He killed many of his own citizens, and countless Iranians, with chemical weapons. It is estimated that he may have killed up to 1 million Iraqis during his reign. He violated countless UN resolutions and fired upon U.S. and British planes for years as they patrolled the nofly zones.

When was the last time you heard of any of these facts? Think of the damage he could have done to America with the massive wealth from oil he would be receiving now. Every intelligence agency in the world saw him as a threat, as did almost every person in Congress, and this was before Bush became president. Bush acted after Clinton failed to do so, and God bless him for that.

The media will fail in its coup against Bush, and history will place him with Lincoln, FDR and Truman for being the right man at the right time for America.

The media has turned our country against the war on terror, battlefield Iraq, just as it did during the Vietnam conflict. Our liberal politicians, children of the `60s, have once again clouded the issue of our security. CNN will air snuff videos of our soldiers being murdered, yet never show film of the burning towers.

Our newspapers rejoice at revealing our methods used to track and interrogate terrorists, then moan and groan of the horrors of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib. Do they ever write about the good America has done for the world? NBC reporters breathlessly report the daily death count in Iraq at the hands of "freedom fighters," yet never mention the 3,000 Americans murdered in abortion clinics yesterday.

Our politicians tell of their support of the troops, yet are trying to hold back funding. They say we are in a quagmire in Iraq, and separate it from the war on terror. Liberal politicians and the media tell us all that Iraq has turned into Vietnam. When our heroic troops left Vietnam, defeated by politics but not by the enemy, they simply came home. When they leave Iraq, they will be followed. If we don't take our heads out of our youknow whats and watch what is happening in the Middle East, we may have done to us what Harry Truman did to the Japanese.

Muslim murderers have vowed to destroy anyone who is not a believer of Islam, and they will not stop until they have killed us all. Some readers will think I am overreacting, and disagree with everything I've written. They may even write that I am a rambling military snob. I hope they are right, but the fact is our military, the strongest in the history of the world, is not being allowed to win World War III. God help us all.

So, sit around the coffee table and bash President Bush, declare how CNN has convinced you to oppose all things Bush and be smug in your opinion. Don't worry about Russia and Iran, just say we need to get out of Iraq. Then forget about Iraq until tomorrow or the next day. I think about the hell that is Iraq all the time, and in August my family will visit the horror and dread once more. I'll turn off the TV and go sit on the front porch, keeping a wary eye on the street, and talk to Jesus about my boy.

God Bless America, George W. Bush, and the Armed Forces of the United States.

George Van Cleave is a resident of Athens, Texas.