It began with a missile attack against Iraqi "targets of opportunity" and ended with the final ouster of the Socialist Baath Regime of Saddam (Butcher of Baghdad) Hussein. 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' proceeded with minimal lose of life, and remarkable speed. It is also significant to note, that the "coalition of the willing" acted with great restraint in an effort to spare Iraqi civilians. We can only imagine the potential destruction the coalition forces could have rained down upon the enemy had they not been led by just and compassionate commanders.

     The military campaign to free Iraq is over, but the battle will persist for years to come. As with Afghanistan, Iraq is composed of various feuding factions, all intent on filling the void after Saddam's departure. The final destiny of Iraq can only be achieved if the Iraqi people can put aside their differences and embrace the western philosophy of democracy; and that is a large order to fill. We are also witnessing a tactical campaign of violence which targets coalition forces, Iraq's much needed infrastructure, key Iraqi leaders and personnel, the Red Cross and even the UN's benevolent staff. This last ditch effort, by a weakened and routed enemy, is an effort to demoralize US and British citizens, disrupt the rebuilding of Iraq, maintain an atmosphere of fear within the Iraqi populace and bog down US forces and valuable assets that could otherwise be used against terrorist contingents elsewhere. Indeed, this is a most sound strategy on the part of our enemies and there is a high probability of a positive result.

   It is imperative that we not back down from our superlative initial victory in Iraq. We must not succumb to weakness or the strategies of those opposing us. The future of Iraq and the Iraqi peoples, depends upon our courage and determination to stand firm and see this operation through to it's final conclusion. The time frame for this will be measured in years, not weeks or months. This holds true for Afghanistan and any future rogue or terrorist state we must eliminate. Iraq is now free, we must never allow it to degrade into the hellish state it was just seven months ago.

   As Americans, we must maintain our past resolve. We must not politicize our efforts to maintain national security. We must vigorously pursue our enemy and eliminate them with extreme prejudice. We must be willing to stand and defend ourselves, even if it means standing alone; and in the aftermath of conflict, we must do all it takes to drag our enemies (willing or not) from the darkness of the past into the light of civilization and, hopefully, freedom and democracy.