Letter from the Iranian President

I received an e-mail from an irate friend who had read a copy of the letter from the Iranian President to all of us "Noble Americans". The text of the letter can be read at the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15952309/

It is with great interest that I read this letter. It should be remembered that it is a man who has claimed that the Holocaust is a fiction and who has been compared to Hitler by some. In light of that, he rhetoric is interesting. He is well-spoken and pushes many of the "right" buttons. He speaks of peace and harmony in much the same way as Hitler assured the European powers that his intentions were benign.

While I know that most all of us wish for our soldiers to come home tomorrow, we should be careful not to use this letter as justification for doing so. He states, "American soldiers often wonder why they have been sent to Iraq." If you follow the link that I provide to my friend's blog, you will see that our soldiers are pretty clear as to why they were sent to Iraq and they are pretty clear on what they are trying to achieve.

In addition, he talks about the common concerns of balancing the economics of the war vs. domestic concerns. (..."would it not be more beneficial to bring the US officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical US military expenditures in Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the American people? As you know very well, many victims of Katrina continue to suffer, and countless Americans continue to live in poverty and homelessness.) Again, attempting to play on the angst of the American public in an attempt to get us to pressure our leaders to cut and run.

It should be remembered that one of the big winners in an American "defeat" (because that is what a full-scale withdrawl will be seen as) would be Iran. Their influence over the Shiite community in Iraq cannot be underestimated. How long would it be before the Iranian government moves troops and "advisors" into Iraq because the Shiite dominated government "requested their help"? Can you say Lebanon (Syria) or Austria (Nazi Germany)? Of course he needs us to bring our troops home, we're preventing him from grabbing more of the Middle East.

The invasion of Iraq is, in my humble opinion, a squandered opportunity to bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East. Iraq is a proud, well-educated country with the potential to be a shining star of democratic abilities. Unfortunately, our post-war actions (or inaction as the case actually was) has lead to the current situation. We should have been prepared to follow up the invasion with a Marshall Plan type rebuilding effort that would have allowed the potential middle-class to work and prosper leading the country back to self-reliance. Instead we disenfranchised everyone and allowed extremism to find fertile ground. Let us hope and pray that we can find a way to make this country work again. Just know, that although I disagree with much of the President's handling of the post-war era, I do strongly agree with the tenet that the troops must stay until "the work is done." To do any less allows Iran and Syria free hand and that would be bad for all.

I have had the great fortune to know an Iranian national who is proud to live and work "amongst us in friendship and peace." He is a quiet, hardworking man who, although is extremely intelligent and wise in international affairs, is happy to work as a custodian. His last comment to me about the state of Iranian affairs was, "Just as we are happy because we take one step forward, they take us two steps back."

It is up to us to help the Iraqis and the Iranians keep taking more steps forward than they take back.