Making it Personal

Even as a news junkie it's hard to put all that's happening in Iraq and in the War on Terrorism in perspective. How can you take in the daily toll of casualties, the complete disheartening of the prisoner abuse photos, the atrocity of the beheading of the American contractor by Al Qaida in Iraq. It's mind numbing.

And most of all it's remote. Even with Guard and Reserve troops from our area to Iraq I only know 1 person directly involved militarily. Even being a veteran myself it's hard to relate to our troops and the events unrolling on the screen.

So I decided to make it personal, and yesterday's news of the beheading of Mr. Berg made me do it. Here's how I made it personal:

I have a coworker who became a friend over the last year. I don't know him outside of work. I didn't know anything about his family. I know snippets about his hobbies. But I got to know him and admire him as a coworker and a mentor over the last year.

Around March of last year, when the Iraq invasion started, we were having lunch in the cafeteria. I was chattering on about events and my take on it. He wasn't talking much. Finally I asked him what he thought about us going to Iraq. "We don't have any business being there" he said in a quiet but deeply intense way. It surprised me. What's that all about, I thought.

Last month we were together again for a business dinner. We had more time to talk. It seems my friend has a son in the military. Assignment: Baghdad. And he won't say it, but he's clearly deathly afraid for his son's safety. "Stay on the base", he told him. "There's no reason to go to town".

So that's how I make it personal. I don't know a troop, but I know a troop's father.

So I watch the news of the beheading and I think "What if that was my friend's son? Is it worth his death for us to be in Iraq? Is it worth the heartache my friend would have?"

My answer for the invasion would have been yes. I believe Sadaam represented a real threat with a real connection to terrorism and a real grudge against the U.S. and was, in sum, a danger to us that needed to be defanged at a cost.

That's done. My answer now is no. We should go home.

I know that we have stated objectives to build a democracy in that area of the world as a base against terrorism. I don't buy it. They'll never like us there. Never.

I know pundits like Cokie Roberts make the argument that "We broke it, we bought it". I don't buy it. Sure we should rebuild some bridges, turn the water and power back on, etc. But nation building, no.

They're defanged. They can't hurt us. We should say simply "we did the right thing to prevent terrorism. Don't do it again or we'll be back." Then bring my friend's son and all the troops home.

If the Sunnis want to fight the Shiites, or vice versa, I don't care. It's not our fight.