America is suffering from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) on a national scale.  Maybe it is due to the fact that most Americans today have grown up with television and their attention span runs only a short time due to commercial breaks. Americans expect instant gratification within a very short span of time.  
Maybe this is why so many people want to cut and run from Iraq. Their attention span will not allow our government to finish what ultimately must be finished over there.  Cut-and-run thinking can have serious consequences.
The first Gulf War was over in an amazingly short time. We freed Kuwait and sent Hussein’s army running with their tails between their legs. Then, the military stopped and came home. This decisive war fit within our attention span. America was elated. Our troops were heroes.
Stopping our army was a big mistake.  We had Hussein’s back against the wall and we let him go. He then became emboldened.  He offered payment to the families of all suicide bombers, as long as they killed Americans and Israelis. He also used Iraq to train terrorists.  
Then came 9/11 and our world was turned upside down. The terrorists knew that they could attack America on its own soil and fear little or no retribution. The terrorists became emboldened by Hussein’s support and promise of WMD, which he had. The fact that we found none still does not lessen the fact that he killed many Iranians and Kurds with poison gas.
After 9/11, America had to stand up to the terrorists and destroy their cells wherever we found them, or face the distinct possibility that Bin Laden would hit us again with Hussein’s support.  
We invaded Afghanistan.  Again this war fit into the time segment between commercials. It was over quickly and America was able to turn their attention back to regular programming.  We only had to give this war a short span of attention.  
Our government knew Hussein had WMD and wanted a nuclear weapon.  Again, we don’t know what he did with the program. He might have moved it to another Arab country. So after he defied the U.N., we took it upon ourselves to take action.  Once again the 3rd ID answered the call; and in 38 days, our troops could be seen on worldwide TV pulling down the statue of Hussein. The show was over and our short attention span was once again satisfied
What no one saw coming but should have, was the fact both Afghanistan and Iraq needed our help to stabilize each country. We are still in both countries. We either have to stick it out until each country is stable, or cut and run.
If we do the latter, we will see atrocities like nothing since World War II. The terrorists in both countries will come back with a vengeance and there will be wholesale bloodshed with women and children getting the blunt of the devastation.
The Democrats want us to pull out.  They are trying to influence the way the war is being fought. They are giving aid to the enemy. We saw what happened in Vietnam when the politicians tried to run the war rather than allowing the military to do their job. We never lost a battle, but we lost the war and Southeast Asia.
War is not pleasant but as long as the enemy is fighting on their ground, they can’t fight on ours. I don’t like war, but I see it as a necessity. My father served in WWII. I was in during Vietnam. We have four sons who served their country and now two grandsons. We all volunteered because we knew what was at stake and what is still in the balance.
Let’s cure ourselves of ADD and let out military do their job without interference by Congress.

Contact Calderone at lenc@coastalnow.net