[Preechr]

Every single time the West has interacted with the Middle East, problems arose. I told you before how Islam spread in Indonesia, of all places, because a volcano blew up and the Dutch cut and ran, leaving their colonies behind. That's how Islam spreads. Wherever there is great injustice, there are Imams pointing fingers and stirring passions. I am not downing the religion one bit, either. The tools used to spread Islam in this fashion were developed in the West... that's how they can be so effectively used against us.

Our own historical evidence shows us exactly whay we cannot leave the Middle East until our Mission is truly Accomplished. As soon as the last American plane takes off, the cancerous way of thinking that is caused by the methods by which Islam is spread (please notice I did NOT say caused by Islam) will strengthen and grow most likely to the point that we will not be able to counter-act it and the Western world will be threatened to a degree much greater than ever before.

See, max... Islam is not the problem. Democrats and Republicans and Sunnis are not the problem. The problem is that it has become acceptable in this world to blame your problems on someone else and then pout and maybe even get violent about it. MLKjr was a great man because he recognized this growing problem in the modern era and accomplished great things by leading us out of the blame game, at least for a little while. He taught that we must act positively toward our goals rather than getting depressed or destructive when we don't get our way.

The entire modern world is guilty of ignoring this lesson. We cater to every childish demand that some random group might make in recompense for some perceived slight, whether obviously real and understandable or not. Those that led the American Revolution were not pouting because they felt put upon. They were throwing off the shackles of colonialism, risking their lives for the sake of FULL responsibility for one's actions: Freedom.

The bombing of that mosque was obviously engineered to create exactly the sort of reaction you are predicting. You ask, "What should we do if this happens?!" ...and then get pissed because the answer is pretty much the same as it always has been: Stick to it, no matter what.

Too much is at stake. Yes, it would be nice to have had social and military plans that reflected the gravity of the situtation, but I'm pretty thankful we at least have the will to try fulfilling our responsibilities. Our mistakes will be the reason Iraqis one day take their own destinies in hand... they will hopefully convince themselves, eventually, that they can run their own lives better than we have been ham-handing it for them. If we were perfectly competent at this job, why in the world would they ever want to take over?

Either way, if we leave, we will be doing the same thing Western civilizations have always done when experiments in Arabia have gone awry, so we can only expect the same results: the spread of radicalized Islam along with all the hostility toward the West that entails. Making the same mistake over and over, expecting different results, is the definition of stupidity.

When you vote we leave, THAT is what you are suggesting would be best for all concerned. Make no mistake, if Hillary is elected in 08 after our troops returned home before their job was completed, we will still be hated. Terrorists won't be putting off their attacks until we elect another Republican or another member of the Bush family. The War on Terror is not a war on ideology or a war of political goals. It is a war on a way of living life. It is a war on blaming others for your problems and then feeling justified in using violence in retribution.