Fallujah & Al-Sadr’s Goons

06 Apr, 2004 by John Hawkins

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I’ve refrained from commenting on what’s happening in Iraq right now because in my opinion, the information that’s coming out the country just isn’t good enough to allow us to get a full picture of what’s happening.

However, I can tell you this: We will pacify Fallujah, we will break al-Sadr’s men (he does not have wide support), we will end the rioting, and al-Sadr will end up in a cell or a pine box. How long will this take & how many of our Coalition partner’s troops, American soldiers, and innocent civilians will die? I honestly don’t know, although I think we should have a much better idea of how things are going to play out in a week or so.

This certainly isn’t good news and in fact the only possible upside I can see to this is that we’re much better equipped to deal with these threats today than a fragile, new Iraqi government would be on June 30th. So by clearing out a lot of the bad elements in Fallujah and breaking al-Sadr, we may give Democracy in Iraq a better long-term chance of success.

Helping the people of Iraq build a democracy is difficult, but if we succeed, and I certainly believe we will, it’ll be just as important as helping Japan or Germany become free was. The example set by a free Iraq is the key to helping the rest of Middle-East move towards Democracy, which is the ultimate key to defeating terrorism long-term & thereby preventing a terrorist from one day detonating a nuclear weapon on American soil.

It’s tough, really tough, to know there are American soldiers, contractors, & our allies over there getting shot at, wounded, & killed. But, what they’re doing is vitally important not just for the people of Iraq, not just for the Middle-East, but for all of us here at home. They’re risking their lives in a foreign land, so civilians like us won’t end up having to risk our lives trying to get out of a burning skyscraper or climb out of the twisted wreckage of a bombed out train. God bless and keep ’em safe while they’re doing what has to be done in Iraq right now….