Quagmire or not, we must prevail.

The war in Iraq is compared with the Vietnam "quagmire." The word was heard regarding the Korean War. For that matter, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World Wars I and II were called quagmires. Except for Vietnam, all of them were won, but remained quagmires until the hard work of freedom settled in.

The Korean and Vietnam wars were fought for freedom and they were the right thing to do for the South Koreans, for the South Vietnamese people, for our national security and the security of the world. Now the new tyranny of terrorism is rampant and it's more difficult to deal with. Nevertheless, it's a matter of overcoming the difficulties and holding on for freedom. We must overcome the problems in Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else fanatic terrorists are out to destroy us.

Failure to defend ourselves against terrorism by any means necessary could spell the end of us. Ask the brave people in Israel.

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Unedited letter text:

Quagmire or not, we must prevail

As one of the most vitriolic presidential campaigns in our history targets 2004 election day, the most heated issue is the war in Iraq. One side says the war in Iraq is a major part of the campaign against terrorism. The other side says the war is a wrongheaded quagmire.

Quagmire? Now, where have we heard that word before? Oh yes, it was the Vietnam War quagmire they are comparing it to. And it's been heard even before that regarding the Korean War. For that matter, the Revolutionary War was called a quagmire, the Civil War was called a quagmire, and World War I and II were called quagmires. Except for Vietnam, all of them were won, but remained quagmires until the hard work of freedom settled in. So what's the problem?

Regardless of the endless political debate and partisan stone-throwing, common sense still tells us that the Korean War and the Vietnam War were fought to prevent the invasive tyranny of Communism. Those wars were fought for freedom and they were the right thing to do for the South Koreans, for the South Vietnamese people, for our national security and the security of the World.

Now, the new tyranny of terrorism is rampant and it's more difficult to deal with. Nevertheless, it's simply a matter of overcoming the difficulties and holding on for freedom. We did in all the other wars, but we didn't do it in Vietnam, simply because of wrongheaded reactionaries forcing political doubts. We must overcome the problems in Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else where fanatic terrorists are out to destroy us. Radical theocratic tyranny is just as barbaric as Nazi tyranny, Fascist tyranny, Communist tyranny or any other dictatorial tyranny. And Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida cells are just as bad as Hitler, Musolini, Tojo, Stalin and every other Communist dictator.

A quagmire is defined as a precarious situation. A predicament. By any definition, failure to defend ourselves against terrorism by any means necessary could spell the end of us. Ask the brave people in Israel.