Remember those who made our freedom possible

      Editor: Dave Uphoff
Today we honor those soldiers who died for our country. Over 1600 have given their lives fighting the terrorists in Iraq for over 2 years now. This war is unlike any war that Americans have fought because the enemy is everywhere but cannot be recognized. It seems to me that fighting in Iraq must be like walking the streets of the south side of Chicago at 2:00 am hoping that no one drives by and shoots you. I am sure this war is just as fearful for our soldiers in Iraq as it was for soldiers in any other war, perhaps even more so.

The media, for the most part, seems to emphasize the bombings and killings that occur on a daily basis. But that is what happens in a war. I feel that the media does not have access to all of the positive things that are happening in Iraq because that does not make for good news. Even in America we tend to report only bad things. The good things that are happening everyday go unreported because that is what we expect out of life. I feel the same thing is happening in Iraq.

Because of the controversy over the war in Iraq, patriotism is not as great as it was in World War II, a war that was supported by almost everyone. Minonk paid a heavy price in World War II having lost 24 men. The pictures of those young men are shown in the Old Photo section of the History segment in this website. How would we react if Minonk lost that many soldiers in this war?

Sooner or later, things will improve to the point at which the Americans can pull out of Iraq. That may take another 5 years but it will happen. That seems like a long time to a society that expects instant results whether it be switching channels on the television or going in to debt to buy something rather than waiting to pay for it in cash.

We need to learn from our mistakes in this war. Most experts agree that the war aftermath was poorly planned, if there was a plan at all. In addition, there are not enough soldiers in Iraq to adequately fight the terrorists. Our military vehicles were not built to withstand bomb blasts from underneath, a source of many deaths in Iraq.

The biggest mistake we made is not having adequate intelligence. Good intelligence may have prevented or delayed the war. It is needed more than ever now to rid Iraq of the insurgents. Good intelligence is more effective than bullets.

In the future we need to enlist the support of our allies to fight terrorism wherever its ugly head will rear. Terrorism is becoming a world wide problem and there is no reason we should go it alone. America cannot eliminate every bad guy in the world. There are too many of them. As long as there are different religions and different countries, there will be conflicts and wars. We need to devise a better way to solve these conflicts. The old method of bombs and bullets have lost their effectiveness against armies of soldiers willing to blow themselves up.

I want to thank those brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for putting their life on the line to help rid the world of terrorism. Those who return from duty in Iraq will be far more mature and have a different perspective on things than their counterparts who remain here in America. Hopefully, lessons learned from the war in Iraq will eliminate the need to continue to shed American blood on foreign soil. Take a moment today to remember those who made it possible for us to enjoy living in the greatest nation in the world.

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May 30, 2005