By David Hunsaker
College Republicans
When will this be over? Much of the world wants a date, but we don't have one, and that's alright. Here's why: Let's review the basics: What are we fighting for? Freedom for our fellow men. Who are our enemies? People who hate freedom. What are we willing to pay? That should be a rhetorical question.
Yes, Iraqies, Brits and Americans have died in Iraq along with others. But is this an excuse to leave? No! We knew before we went into Iraq that freedom isn't free. We learned that from our founding fathers. Aren't we glad they didn't give up when the going got tough? Wouldn't it have been easy for General Washington to look at our incredibly desolate and beaten army and say, 'Oh well, we gave our best.' Don't you think he got letters from parents asking when their sons would be home? We were beaten, we were starving, and the end was nowhere in sight.
Now what are we willing to pay for freedom? Hundreds are dying in Iraq, the government is unstable, there is no end in sight and Bush is being criticized. So what is our battle plan? Earlier this week President Bush addressed this issue. His answer was, in essence, that we will keep on keeping on. The going is slow, but nothing good ever happened overnight. The government is gaining strength, schools are being built, the economy is on the rise, and Iraqi security forces are becoming more able.
What is the Republican view on the future in Iraq? It should be obvious. We believe in freedom for our fellow men, but thankfully we don't have a date for completion. We are willing to go until we can go no more and give everything for this priceless gift we call liberty.
byu_republican_column@yahoo.com
By Zach Avery
College Democrats
The first step in winning the Iraq War is to acknowledge that America needs to leave Iraq to the Iraqis as soon as possible. This is because the people of Iraq do not want America to remain in their country and they view our continued presence as an occupation of their country. In the history of the world, no army has ever held ground without the support of the local people. A survey of Iraqis sponsored by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority, shows that about 80 percent of the Iraqi public oppose US forces remaining there.
In a recent Zogby poll of the American forces in Iraq found that 72 percent of them think the US should exit Iraq in 2006. Over 25 percent think the US should leave now. When the soldiers fighting the war want it to end soon, it is time to bring an end to the war.
Having established the need to leave the country, we must find a way to do so and it remains to be seen how to do that. 'Staying the course until the job is done' when one does not know what constitutes having the job be done is not a plan for victory; it is a plan for a Vietnam-like quagmire.
So, the first step is to define what our victory in Iraq will look like. If our goal were, for example, to have 200,000 Iraqi soldiers trained and in the field, five parliamentary elections and a casualty rate of less than fifty civilians every month, then our military could work toward those goals. When they are accomplished we could begin to bring the troops home.
The Democratic position is to set measurable goals, based on progress, not time, and when they are met, we can bring our soldiers home and out of harm's way.
byu_democratic_column@yahoo.com