Whether or not a person believes in the credibility of the intentions for invading Iraq, nothing changes the fact that the United States is involved – and for good reason.

?For over 20 years, the greatest threat to the Iraqis has been Saddam Hussein?s regime?he has killed, tortured, raped and terrorized the Iraqi people and his neighbors for over two decades,” according to the White House press report of April 4, 2003. No one living under Hussein’s power was safe.

Under Hussein’s regime many hundreds of thousands of people were murdered as a result of his actions. Hussein killed anyone who even hinted at disagreeing with him. The people were afraid to even come out of their homes, while not even safe in their homes.

Hussein used chemical weapons on 40 Kurdish villages, resulting in thousands of deaths. Saddam committed mass genocide against his own people.

As a result of Hussein’s inhumanity, 900,000 people fled Iraq. Hussein himself openly supported terrorism, gaining suicide bombers by literally paying families to surrender their sons to his plan for the destruction of Israel.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blaire states on March 27, 2003, ?Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition forces have discovered military warehouses filled with relief aid meant for the Iraqi people, but diverted by Saddam Hussein.” Over 400,000 Iraqi children under the age of five died of malnutrition and disease.

In the end, the United States’ only clear option lay in its current action. Saddam Hussein had to be brought to justice for his horrific crimes against humanity in order to set his people free. The United States rid Iraq of a tyrant – in my opinion, one of the most evil men in history.

The world could no longer ignore the Iraqi peoples’ screams for freedom. We could not deny them the same freedom we enjoy. “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it,” Abraham Lincoln wrote in a letter to Henry Pierce, April 6, 1859.

By removing Hussein from power, the United States not only gave the Iraqi people freedom but also offered them a chance to control their own future. As a result of freedom from Hussein, Iraqis can now vote for their own leadership and live outside oppression.

Now the war in Iraq has evolved from freeing the oppressed to that of fighting terrorism. Iraq has become the new battlefield for the War on Terror. Coalition forces defend the new Iraqi government from Islamic extremism trying to destroy democracy in the Middle East.

General Petraeus, head general of coalition forces in Iraq, changed the tactics of coalition forces and has employed counterinsurgency operations. Petraeus states in his report to Congress on April 8, 2008: “Our mission in Iraq is to safeguard the Iraqi people, pursue Al Qaeda-Iraq, to combat militia extremists, to foster local reconciliation and to enable political and economic progress.”

The future of Iraq is in the United States’ best interest; Iraq must be a strong ally to the United States and end the conflict and bring stability to the region.

Those calling for a pullout are blind to the severe consequences of removing our troops from Iraq. We have given the Iraqi people a taste of freedom; if we retreat, that freedom will no longer exist. A pullout will not bring a peaceful resolution, as there was no peace to begin with.

A pullout means Muslim extremists have defeated the world. The United States cannot afford to lose this war. The world cannot afford to lose this war.

Many believe that the tragedy of Sept. 11 marked the beginning threat of terrorism. In actuality, the danger surfaced in 1979, when extremists in Iran held U.S. Embassy workers hostage for over a year.

Since the attack in 1979 to the fall of the World Trade Centers in 2001, there have been 8 other attacks on the Untied States. (During the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7581 terrorist attacks worldwide). Al Qaeda has declared Iraq the home base for its operations. This uncovers a direct connection between Sept. 11 and the Iraq war.

If one believes the terrorists will stop their attacks on the United States after a pullout, they are gravely mistaken. The attacks will not subside, but rather, steadily increase. They will view us as weak and divided. Remember: they want us dead, not quiet.

It is foolish to believe the United States can be diplomatic with terrorists. At their very core, these people want to destroy us. Remember that we gained our freedom by fighting for it, not asking for it.

If we leave Iraq, the nation will surely fall into terrorist hands and the people of Iraq will surely die. The United States must wake up and unite to defeat this threat to our nation and to our world.