Tunnel vision

In response to the letter written on 7/11/05 by Mr. Steve Susko, with the title “Failure is not an option in Iraq”, allow me to impress upon Mr. Susko some brief realities. First of all, many of us don’t look at exiting Iraq as “cut and run”. Because of the dire and unsolvable mess, we would prefer to call it regroup and refocus.

It is not uncommon in a war to make an assessment of mistakes and evacuate an area to fight stronger in another. Please be advised that the enemies in Iraq are doing just that. It was widely supported when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. So much trust and clout was lost when the U.S. invaded Iraq.

The selling of the Iraq war and the denial that follows has turned into some type of tunnel vision. That tunnel vision is falsely coated with Patriotism. How long can we protect a government in Iraq that is considered illegitimate? When we leave town, can that government ever sustain itself? The cost to not having a plan to leave town is enormous. While some are solely concerned about not to cut and run, many of us are concerned with the weaponry build up of nations like North Korea, Iran, and China.