Tom,

This "leftie" isn't advocating for "surrender." My problem is that we went to war in Iraq in the first place. Now that we're there, however, we've got no other choice but the stay the course, in spite of the casualties and the costs. But I want folks here to remember that we went to war because Mr. Bush falaciously claimed that that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that could be placed into the hands of others to be used against Americans. Every death of an American soldier in Iraq is on the basis of these false pretenses. I hold Mr. Bush responsible this unnecessary loss of American life, as well as the loss of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilian lives.

Keep in mind Tom that I have never criticized the Bush's administration's intervention in Afghanistan. This was a necessary act precipitated by the Taliban's complicity with Al Qaeda's terrorism against American citizens. We were entirely justified in conducting a war there and I fully support the administration's efforts in that. My hope is that our unfortunate diversion of resources into Iraq will not keep us from finishing the job in Afghanistan. Keep in mind we've yet to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.

But Iraq is an entirely different story.

Donald