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Edward
Cichowitz: Wednesday November 23, 2005
Peace protests encourage terrorists to keep killing
It saddens and angers me to read about protest groups pushing to abandon our
commitment to help the Iraqi people free themselves from a brutal
dictatorship and achieve democracy and self-rule.
These misguided protesters seek to blame our current administration for a
terrorist war against the United States that started way back in 1979 with
the attack and hostage taking at our embassy in Iran. This was followed by
attacks on our Beirut embassy and Marine barracks in 1983, the downing of a
Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie in 1988, the first World Trade Center attack in
1993, the attack on the Khobar Towers military complex (Saudi Arabia) in
1996, attacks on our Nairobi, Kenya and Dares Salaam embassies in 1998 and
the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. The more recent destruction of
the World Trade Center towers and attack on the Pentagon in September of
2001 is more easily recalled.
The major focus and motivation for the current crop of “peace protests”
seems to be an irrational and ill-conceived hatred directed toward George
Bush and Dick Cheney. Is this because they were among the first with the
personal and political courage to confront the reality of a radical Islamic
enemy determined to kill Americans and attack our institutions?
Why is the protesters’ animosity never directed at the brutal and cowardly
perpetrators of the almost daily atrocities we read and hear about? Whose
side are these people on?
While most protesters are quick to proclaim their patriotism and support for
our troops, the most direct and unfortunate result of their demonstrations
is to encourage the zealot terrorist leaders and their suicidal followers to
kill more of our troops and large numbers of innocent people with the
expectation that America will lose its will as a nation to stay the course
and achieve victory.
Our brave young men and women who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way
to liberate others and to protect us from a fanatical and determined enemy
deserve our full and unqualified support, including support for their
mission and for their leaders. As a nation united we can press on to
complete the mission and take great pride in having liberated millions of
oppressed people and helped to spread the freedom and democracy that we
enjoy as Americans.
The alternative is to cut and run, and then attempt to justify and live with
our responsibility for the chaos and carnage that will likely follow. I
would hate to see that happen. Our troops and the courageous Iraqi citizens,
many of who have risked their very lives to cast their first-ever votes,
deserve better.
Edward Cichowitz
Anacortes
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