[Mr 5 0]

I strongly supported the liberation of Iraq and I continue to support the democratization of that nation. Yes, it comes at a price - tens of billions of dollars and over 750 American lives lost - so far. The prisoner abuse scandal is a loss for our image but the actions of a few soldiers do not reflect the good work of the more than 130,000 America military personnel serving in Iraq. Much good is happening in Iraq that never gets reported. I know, because I have an acquaintance who is in Iraq helping to organize the prison system into a system that is humane and effective. He knew nothing about the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison because he's a contracted civilian and wasn't involved in the military-run portion of the prison facility. What he does know is that 3,000 schools have been opened in Iraq (with more to come) and the Iraqi schoolchildren have new (Arabic) textbooks and supplies, thanks to the United States. Many new hospitals are operating and more Iraqis have electricity than during the Saddam Hussein era. The nation is functioning well, considering the fact that it was in the midst of a war just a year ago and suffered under dictators like Saddam for most of the 20th century. That never gets mentioned in the leftist media that only covers the bad news, with endless photos of abused Iraqi prisoners and grinning morons wearing the uniform of the U.S. military posing with them. That needs to be covered - but not for weeks on end.

As many have mentioned, these were detainees that were suspected of terrorism or terrorist ties, not jaywalkers or someone who was caught speeding. That doesn't make their abuse justified, just a bit more understandable. This national media-driven cry-fest and apology-orgy is getting beyond tiresome. Some American military personnel did bad things to suspected terrorists in their charge. It was found out, announced by the Army Command back in January, investigated and the perps are being Court-Martiled, as they should be. Some higher-ups may also be brought to account before it's over. There was no denial, no coverup. Yes, what happened violated the rules and makes the United States look bad, but we are dealing with it, quickly and efficiently, as we should. Both President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld have publically apologized to the Iraqi people for what occured in Abu Ghraib prison. We Americans admit our mistakes and deal with them.

Contrast our response to the prisoner abuse scandal to the recent beheading of the American civilian Nick Berg, a Jewish man. The barbaric criminals who did this were proud: praising their god while slashing off Berg's head - and threatened many more such deaths to Americans on the film they made of the execution. While there was some Arab condemnation for the act, it was nothing like the public handwringing we've seen in America because some Iraqi prisoners were humiliated in a U.S. military-run prison. The difference is stark - and so was the media coverage. While Berg's beheading was covered, it didn't stay on the front pages long. The leftmedia couldn't wait to get back to what 'we' did wrong at Abu Ghraib prison earlier this year. The media is attempting to make this look as if the entire war was wrong and in so doing, infer that President Bush was wrong for invading Iraq. He was not wrong.

There is one less large terrorist-friendly country in the middle east and 25 million Arabs have a chance at freedom for the first time in their lives. The U.S. has a base in the region and can withdraw from our shaky 'ally', Saudi Arabia and we'll eventually have another stable oil supply to buy from. Most importantly, Islamic terrorism is taking a big hit in Iraq and is losing, steadily, week by week. Yes, it's slow and tough and expensive in both lives and money, granted, but the war in Iraq is the best thing the president could have done to attack terrorism on it's home base, instead of here, in our cities and front yards. We will prevail, Iraq will be free and the Islamic terrorists have been decimated, if not defeated totally as yet.

America cannot simply 'nuke' other nations that annoy us but we cannot ignore them, either. We did that with Islamic terrorism for far too long. Pretending it didn't exist or didn't matter was a huge mistake. September 11, 2001 and the 3,000 lives lost in Manhattan were a wakeup call that had to be heeded, and President Bush did just that. He recognized the threat to our nation from Islamic terrorism and set about defeating it. He always said it would take a long time, would never be easy and would cost us in lives and money - but that we had no choice. This country cannot sit back and allow faceless terrorists to willfully murder thousands of Americans and do nothing or expect the useless United Nations to 'fix it'. They can't - and they wouldn't if they could. We're basically on our own here. Contrary to the media, we do have allies but America, as the strongest military power on the face of the earth and the richest nation in the world must shoulder the bulk of this burden that we've been confronted with. We're doing so in Iraq and the Islamic terrorist networks are being damaged big-time as they attempt to stop us in Iraq. Our military is effective and while restrained as to prevent civilain deaths or damaging holy sites, we are still killing many terrorists, day by day. We don't hear or read much about that, only the American deaths, which is understandable, but the fact that there are many more terrorists dying for Allah in Iraq than American servicemen should be reported and it usually is not, or minimized.

As I said; I've long been a supporter of the war in Iraq and the presidents policies to fight terrorism. I think George W. Bush has done a fantastic job in the few years he's had to do this. starting from (almost) scratch. I think Donald Rumsfeld, a 72-year-old multimillionaire - who needs his job as Secretary of Defense like a hole in the head - is a great SOD and we're fortunate to have him at this crucial period in our history, along with the rest of the Bush Senior Staff. I pray for every one of the brave men (and women) serving in our armed forces and especially for the servicemen and women in Iraq, doing a magnificent job under the worst conditions. I expect this war will be won and terrorism defeated to the point where it will no longer be a real and present threat to our nation. That may be years away but it will happen and this president - George W. Bush - was the match that lit the torch of freedom in that region.

I salute him - and to end this piece remind anyone bothering to read it that while a few nincompoops may have soiled our image in the middle east for a time, ours is a justifiably proud nation with a history of both ups and downs (WWII, slavery) but ultimately, we are a people of fairness and justice doing much more good than harm in the world, which is why so many immigrants, legal and otherwise, flock here, year after year. 'America' means 'freedom'. We covet no nation's land and we even help those we defeat after a time of war. We are Americans. I remain proud of that despite the leftmedia's attempts to make me feel ashamed of my country. I never have - and I doubt I ever will.