Say Anything Blog

The war to overthrow Saddam Hussein is over. What remains is a war to overthrow the government of Iraq…

Bob Kerrey is president of The New School in New York, former US Senator, former governor of Nebraska, and holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a Democrat.  And Bob Kerrey understands what is at stake in the War against Islamist Terrorism as do very few of his colleagues on the Left.  Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, he demonstrates why those with real military experience should be listened to carefully… as opposed to sanctimonious little twerps like John Edwards.

The key question for Congress is whether or not Iraq has become the primary battleground against the same radical Islamists who declared war on the U.S. in the 1990s and who have carried out a series of terrorist operations including 9/11. The answer is emphatically “yes.”

This does not mean that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11; he was not. Nor does it mean that the war to overthrow him was justified--though I believe it was. It only means that a unilateral withdrawal from Iraq would hand Osama bin Laden a substantial psychological victory…

Those who argue that radical Islamic terrorism has arrived in Iraq because of the U.S.-led invasion are right. But they are right because radical Islam opposes democracy in Iraq. If our purpose had been to substitute a dictator who was more cooperative and supportive of the West, these groups wouldn’t have lasted a week…

The American people will need that consensus regardless of when, and under what circumstances, we withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq. We must not allow terrorist sanctuaries to develop any place on earth. Whether these fighters are finding refuge in Syria, Iran, Pakistan or elsewhere, we cannot afford diplomatic or political excuses to prevent us from using military force to eliminate them.

By all means, read the whole thing.