SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2006

An Open Letter to President George W. Bush

Dear Mr. President,

One year ago I attended the funeral of SSG George T. Alexander Jr. who was the 2000th U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. George and I graduated high school together in 1989, and his untimely death brought home the harsh reality of the sacrifice so many have suffered in your war of choice in Iraq. I use the word "choice" because everyone now knows this war was not necessary to defend our country. Over three-and-a-half years later and there are no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to those who attacked us on 9/11, the creation of more terrorists worldwide, and a concerted effort on your part to continue to mislead the American public as to why we invaded Iraq, and why we're still there today.

Today, I honor the memory of George Alexander by asking you Mr. President: Why are we still in Iraq?

Polls show 70% of Iraqis don't want us there, and as many as 60% of those we're supposedly there to help think it's acceptable to kill Americans. Here at home, the great majority of U.S. citizens disapprove of your war in Iraq. We are the people you were elected to represent Mr. President, yet you continue to "stay the course."

Recently you stated that "As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down" yet, there are now estimated over 300,000 trained Iraqi troops and we have not withdrawn any of our troops. In fact, we've sent more U.S. troops to Iraq while ignoring the growing threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan. May I remind you that these are the people who were actually responsible for harboring those that attacked us on 9/11, yet the distraction of a baseless mission in Iraq has dispersed our forces to the point that Afghanistan is now spiraling out of control. Meanwhile Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, and according to your own words Mr. President you are "...truly not that concerned about him." Where are your priorities Mr. Bush? How can you not be concerned with capturing the one man who is universally believed to be responsible for the death of 2,973 people in the worst terrorist attack in the history of our country?

One of your justifications for staying in Iraq is to "fight them there so we don't have to fight them here." Just who exactly are the "them" you refer to Mr. President? It has been estimated that only about five percent of those fighting us in Iraq are Al-Qaeda. This means we are indeed occupying a country in the middle of a civil war. Since when is it necessary to occupy an entire country to defeat a small number of those who are our true enemy?

Probably your best reason for "staying the course" in Iraq is to bring democracy to the Middle East. This is a noble cause, but not one that can ever be successful by force. You're invasion of Iraq based on lies and the manner in which you've prosecuted this war has completely discredited this goal. Based on the amount of violence, it is painfully obvious the people of Iraq do not want an American-style democracy forced on them down the barrel of a gun. I'm sure if America was invaded by another country trying to impose their way-of-life on us, you'd be one of the "insurgents" we are so quick to demonize in Iraq.

Your Republican talking points continually say that Democrats have no plan for Iraq, yet I have seen plans from Joe Biden, John Murtha, and even John Kerry that call for the redeployment of our troops out of harm's way, while continuing to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. These plans are perfectly reasonable, but have been ignored by you and your party for purely partisan political reasons. What's worse, instead of working with your political opposition on this most important issue, you try to portray them as weak cowards who want to "cut and run", and even paint them as terrorist sympathizers. Your attempts to politicize this war and the overall war on terrorism is despicable.

Since the death of my friend George Alexander, 811 more U.S. soldiers and Marines have paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. For what Mr. President? All of this brings me to the conclusion that your justifications are merely excuses for a colossal blunder. Every prediction from your administration on Iraq has been wrong, and you have even said that it will be up to the next president to get us out of Iraq. You are obviously aware of the horrendous mistake of invading Iraq, yet your ego won't let you admit you are accountable for getting us out of this situation. And all the while, more Americans will die and suffer because of your arrogance. For once in your life, think about the thousands of American families that have been irreparably changed forever because of your war of choice in Iraq. Put aside your ego and do what is right for our country, our military, and the war on terror, and get out of Iraq.

Sincerely,

Craig Isley