Veterans For An Effective War On Terrorism

The following is a statement by a group of veterans of WW2, Korea and Vietnam, a number of whom were decorated for valor. The chairman of the group was recommended for the Medal of Honor and received the Distinguished Cross, Silver Star and Purple Heart. We are not affiliated with the Kerry campaign organization

This letter is a heartfelt plea that we leave the Swift Boat controversy and the trauma of Vietnam behind and focus on our current crisis and problems. We are writing this out of our deep concern for the security and the future of our beloved country.

We believe that the Iraq war, as initiated and conducted, has weakened us and strengthened Muslim support for terrorism. By its policies, the present administration has divided us from each other, divided us from our oldest allies and set us apart from the world as a law unto ourselves, a state without responsibility for limits.

This not only trashes our most fundamental values but cripples the crucial effort to achieve maximum international cooperation for a concerted, effective and absolutely essential fight against terrorism. The dramatic shift throughout the world from the respect and admiration felt for the United States to an almost universal sense of astonishment and anger at the blind arrogance of our leaders is an enormous loss to us.

The President claims that the invasion of Iraq has made us "more safe." Tragically, the realities are in absolute and stark contradiction. No serious observer of the unfolding tragedy of Iraq can possibly deny that what has resulted from our actions is an enlargement and energizing of the forces of radical Islam.

Because we failed to keep our focus upon those specific forces responsible for the World Trade Center attack, to pursue and destroy them in Afghanistan in an action understood by everyone, including the Muslims, we lost our major justification for introducing American forces into the Middle East, into the heart of the Muslim world. In that world it is seen as an attack upon Islam.

Because of that failure, we have literally written the central narrative for the radical Islamists that now drives their actions. Middle Eastern experts note that Bin Laden himself, while still formidable, is no longer the central problem.

Encouraged by both our lack of focused attention and by the emotions generated by our attack upon Iraq, al Qaeda has metastasized, grown, spread further, carried the message of Jihad against the American infidels to all corners of the Muslim world. We have created a recruitment bonanza for the terrorists and terrorism flourishes. We have bestowed upon Bin Laden gifts he could not have imagined possible; wiped out Hussein who he despised for his secularism and armed al Qaeda with priceless propaganda for fueling a wider war upon us.

We have an Iraq in shambles and an isolated America that has lost precious credibility throughout the world. In Iran the hardliners are strengthened and threaten to move more rapidly to nuclear potential. North Korea has stepped up its production of nuclear weapons components. These are the results of disastrous policies and they must be changed.

To recognize the problem is the first step toward solution; there is a way back and that begins with a change in leadership. John Kerry has demanded that we rejoin the world, that we recognize that dealing with terrorism is a complex long term process requiring intelligence, flexibility, cooperation with allies and a capacity to learn from others and from our mistakes. It requires the strength that comes from attaching thought to action, a fundamental requirement for confronting the Iraq problem we are faced with today.

As deeply concerned veterans, we believe that Kerry clearly demonstrates that strength. We invite other veterans who share our views to join with us by contacting vetcomewt@aol.com.

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