" Bruce, you should work for Karl Rove. Your spin on the war is just as ludicrous as our search for WMDs. We are there for the oil, and to maintain a strategic military presence in the Middle East. Let's call it like it is. If you really believe what you're saying, please enlist now!!! But I imagine you'll say... "Oh no, I've already served my country whan I was in the National Guard with George W." WAKE UP people!!! Bush is talking about sending more troops to Iraq. Sound familiar Bruce? I remember Johnson and Nixon saying the same thing. Oh by the way, 56,000 Americans died because we didn't want to leave Vietnam too soon. Maybe we've learned our lesson, or maybe not. "

" The author's remarks are right on target. The world is still turning a blind eye to islamo-facism. If the vale of political correctness isn't lifted soon, the Middle East will belong to the mullahs of Iran and Europe will be the new Iraq. Guess what's next? "

" Great letter, Bruce. Remember, the reason we were attacked on 9-11 was because Osama saw how Clinton responded to Blackhawk Down in Mogadishu (cut and run) and declared that Americans didn't have the stomach to accept the casualties of war and was nothing but a "paper tiger". If we "cut and run" from Iraq we are confirming he was right. It's a shame that President Bush is unable (or unwilling) to articulate this concept to the public. Where is another Ronald Reagan when we need him? "

" I'm glad to see that Crash is fessing up to his out-of-date spoiled baby boomerism. Bruce, great article...we can only hope America wakes up in time. "

" I don't usually comment on articles because I do not need to get on another mailing list. However, this is the second article that I have found written by you, both by the way, make too much common sense to be appreciated in this area. After reading both articles I had the same thought, how the hell is a clear thinking individual like yourself making a living in a liberal dominated North Bay area. I live in Healdsburg which as you know, is near the epicenter of liberal drool, the fair city of Sebastapol. Always nice to find evidence of rational thought in the bumper sticker capital of the good old USA. Hang in there. "

" ... Crashing brain cells, be it too hard to realize our numerous failed policies, Democrat policies, which led to the establishment of the modern Islamist? Let us start pumping some of the 20 billion barrels of oil from the North Slope that Carter set aside for this very purpose, perhaps his sole redeeming act as a President, build a few clean greenhouse gas free nuclear power plants and then maybe we can leave the middle east to kill off mankind… simple (ton) it is to solve all our problems. Let’s appoint to the Congressional Intelligence Chairmanship a man who doesn’t know whether al Qaeda is Shia or Sunni Islamists, now that that will help our security as much as gutting the CIA did, if not more! As for the Vietnam logic, Democrats got us into that war, completely messed it up and once it was righted abandoned the South, Oh, you say but only 4 of the 5 dominos fell, so it was Nixon's war! With Americans like yourself who needs al Qaeda? "

" I searched in vain to find something in Crash's rant that had some bearing on whether we should or should not withdraw but all I found was non-sequiturs, poisoned invective, and irrelevant conclusions. "

" Before I mention the possible consequences of leaving Iraq, I’d like to mention an often overlooked result of our pulling out of Vietnam in 1973. Within two years of our leaving Southeast Asia, much of that region had fallen to brutal communist regimes, and several million innocent civilians were slaughtered by the communist Khmer That didn't happen! Don't brlieve me Then ask any California high school studebt. They never heatd that! If they never heard of that what do you suppose they and you don't know about the history of the second world war? For instance how many MUSLIM OR MIDDLE eASTERN NATIONS SUPPORTED hitler at least in spirit prior to and during the Seecond World war? Go one strp furthrt Mr. Clyner and ask yourself why and who is changing our Amrtican history in our public school systems? NO ONE SEEMS TO notice or care except senior citizenz! Why is histoey inportant? it keeps us from repeating the same mistakes AND IT DESTROYS YOUR NATIONAL PRIDEIF not considered SO WHO IS OUR ENEMY? Where do they livr Within our own country? Why do we see no pictures of the horrible consquences of the HOLOCAUST BUT OUR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS FAITHFULLY PRInT EVERY STATEMENT BY THE IEANIAN pREAIDENT? SENIOR CITIZENS REMEMBER SO WHY DOES YOUR INDUSTRY NOT WANT THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THOIS COUNTRY TO KNOW? WHO SAID IN THE 1950's THAT THE US COULD BE TAKEN WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT? HE WAS CORRECT! ARe WE THERE? "

" Blaming Islam is a joke! Look in the mirror this season and see how far from the Christian norms our country and beliefs fall. We need to clean up our own house before we continue to force our ideas on others. How many homeless, jobless Americans are there? and are we spending billions per week on them? Merry Christmas "

" I just finished watching the movie"World Trade Center" Has America forgotten so soon?. This was a act of WAR and we should fight back. I have lived thru World War 11 and the following wars. Americans back then stood shoulder to shoulder backing whatever had to be done to win that war. Going on rations, women working at shipyards, etc. Today with the Politically Correct Crap and worrying about hurting by speech or killing someone in WAR, is totally BS Saddely We have to kill alot of people that don't deserve it in WAR, but would you rather be killed.? WE can not back down we have to WIN this WAR or we will slaves to these people in the future We put our head in the sand trying to blame it on the Political Leaders, which neither proves anything to me. We as a nation has to stand up and be aware who is slowing creeping into our country like cockroaches and will lift their ugly head in time when we aren't ready. I believe there are many terrosits amongst us, even some neighbors that just lay dormant, but wait and see..No Don't wait start doing something about this problem, What's the answer I wish I knew but letting our leaders Republican or Demorcats do it isn't the answer. Read up on Terrorism. way back in the 90's It has slowly been happening way back then before the 2001 attack. The unpopular saying" All Muslims are not Terrorist, but All Terrosits are Muslims. The Media spins alot of BS blaming the government, but our boys are fighting for our Freedom, I have lost two over there and they wouldn't have changed going there because they believed in FREEDOM. Have you ever thought what we would do WITHOUT FREEDOM? We take so much for granted. "

" Ruth, Mr Clymer knows very well of what you speak...He is a history teacher. One small voice trying to let our young people know the truth of the worlds past. Students, Take his class, you well learn a lot about what was left out of the books in High School. "

" Send his relatives to Iraq! It's absurd to think that war can produce peace but that is not the case nor has it been. With Bruce's logic we should go beat up all persons who do not believe in what we do. We can get along under different theological standpoints, we cannot however when we plunder as pirates do. Thanks Bruce for giving me more faith in the war mongering machine. Go enlist. "

" So what's the difference between an Arab, a Muslim and a terrorist? No, it's not a joke, just a recipe for world war. "Kill them all and let God sort them out" is not standing against evil, it IS evil. "

" This simple and concise article accurately describes the goal of radical Islam. It began in the Carter Administration with the capture of the American Embassy in Iran, and has continued inexorablly to this date. The ignorance of the American electorate and the liberal left politicians in not being aware of the goals of the Islamic factions will cause great harm to fall on all democratic nations. Radical Islamofacists will not stop in their attempt to destroy any nation or person who does not share their religious view. I was an Airborne Infantryman in VN with three purple hearts, and know war. I also know the failure to act decisively in war leads to defeat. We must be attack and defeat the threat we now face. No professional fighting person likes war, but in this case it is absolutely necessary to fight and win this war. "

" TO WAR MONGER, thanks for the kind thoughts. Our son volunteered for the Military. We are so very proud of him and his willingness to serve our country. Do you think we love war? Do you think if there was any other realistic alternative that we wouldn't want that, instead of our son possibly being at risk???? So Bruce knows of what he speaks. He teaches History and he is very good at his job. He is also too old to enlist. Maybe you should take a trip to Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt and see for yourself. Maybe you would like a visit to Sudan? If I had a time machine, you could get some first hand knowledge of another facist and see how the Jewish belief in non-violence worked for them as Hitler rounded them up. Your arrogance does not serve you well. TO SUMMER, There you go again...Let me enlighten you...An Arab is a person from Arabia, A Muslim follows Allah, and a Terrorist is someone who will maim, and kill anyone who will not do as they wish. A Muslim Terrorist is someone who will fight to the death because Allah is on thier side, they follow a radical form of Islam, and are even more dangerous than your average Oklahoma bomber, because they have a HUGE following and in the last fifty years have KILLED over TEN MILLION INNOCENT PEOPLE! "

" Summer, an Arab is a member of a Semitic people inhabiting Arabia and other countries of the Middle East. A Muslim is an adherent of Islam. And a Terrorist is a radical, typically Arab or Muslim, who employs terror as a political weapon. Terrorists also count on people like you, Summer, to create fuzzy boundaries and doubt in an attempt to prevent a larger organization like the United States from taking effective action. The problem for the far left is that the rise of terrorism has ended multiculturalism as we knew it. Some cultures ARE better than others, and I prefer to support the one that does NOT condone blowing people up. I suggest you try living in the Middle East for a while...especially as a woman. "

" fighting for freedom? i dont seem to understand what freedoms were being taken from me by the iraq people. the freedoms i see being taken are from the U.S. government. the attacks on the WTC and the pentagon, if they were really perpatrated by osama bin laden, have made it easier for bush to push through certain acts, such as the patriot act, spying on the american citizens in the name of freedom. soon we will be required to have U.S. citizen I.D.'s at all times. wait until curfues start. the changing of history has begun, rewrite it to suit our needs at the time a la 1984. big brother is here, he is as strong as ever, and he is watching you. think i am wrong? i hope so. "

" Aaron - don't go down the conspiracy theory path. As others have correctly pointed out here, the Islamic fundamentalists declared war on us in 1979 when they took the hostages in Tehran. Set aside the arguments about whether or not you think Iraq is the place to fight this war for a moment, and come to grips with the reality that we have had this war thrust upon us. Yes, we have a vested interest in mideast oil. Protecting that oil supply will always be part of our global strategy. But beyond that is the ideological battle, the culture clash that we must confront, like it or not. I may feel good to dream about world peace and imagine that "we can all just get along." But the sad truth is that there are people out there who would relish the chance to cut your throat just because of your nationality and your religion. THAT is reality, not Loose Change... "

" I suspect we're confusing too many issues here. The unfortunate fact is that a fairly predictible insurgency beaking down along cultural/ sectarian lines broke out in Iraq once the brutal dictator was removed. This has created the very real problem that we're facing today, for which there are no easy answers. Escalating force probably won't get us the results we're after-which is one lesson from Vietnam. Sudden withdrawal would have few benefits either, other than the understandable desire to move our forces of the crossfire of an emerging civil war- and perhaps amelorating the unintentionally inflammatory presence of our troops in that region. My personal belief is that history will provide some guideposts but not all- each conflict is new and different. My concern about Iraq- and this is a position I have spoken out about since 2002, before the shooting started- is that while no love could be lost on Saddam, his secular, dictatorial Iraq was simply is not the sort of terrorist breeding ground for what we saw on 9/11, and it is both dangerous and misleading to imply that it was (and please spare the Right Wing Talk Radio rhetorect that tries to piecemeal a case for Al Qaeda being in Iraq prior to our invasion- this simply isn't credible- the fact is there were more Al Qaeda in Jersey City ever were in than Baghdad, at least prior to our invasion.) We have to put aside re-fighting Vietnam in our culture wars; drop the emotion and the strong desire to make what we want to believe a reality if only we can shout about it loud enough and figure out A: how to resolve this very complicated and escalting problem in Iraq since- as Colin Powell warned- we broke it, we bought it; B: Get the focus back on the actual problem of International Jihadism- hint, do some research on Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa as good (if somewhat under-resourced) templates for the military portion of how to fight terrorism and C: how do we resolve questions about accountability and cuplability for creating this problem such to ensure it never happens again? You're very right in one sense- the problem is radical terrorism. Ultimately at the end of the day, 9/11 is the fault of Osama bin Laden and the weak-minded, narcissitic lemmings who carried out his orders. President Bush didn't cause it, and neither did President Clinton. I would have to imagine though, bin Laden must be gaining some level of satisfaction watching us pull eachother's hair out. Just my opinion, let's knock off this invictive; figure out an intelligent solution that will reolve Iraq as quickly and securely as possible, and get the focus back on eradicating both the causes and the agents of terrorism. "

" War Monger does not believe war produces peace. Maybe not, but victory sure does... "

" We did not simply pull out of Vietnam. Such a statement ignores more than 10 years of human sacrifice, 50,000 U.S. casualties and the misguided and failed policy that was its cause. It is a grave mistake to confuse that war and its consequences with Iraq. The killing fields of the Khmer Rouge were indeed a direct result of that policy but it was the initial flaw of that policy and that war not its abandonment that created the catastrophe. Any other conclusion is a perversion of fact, reality and history. Those who make this comparison confuse political and national desire with the religious and tribal and willfully place America at great risk. Each war breeds the next and demands solid reasoning not flippant analogies to false premises. If you wish to convince us of the necessity of Iraq lay off Vietnam and begin to explain how Iraq and the problems we encounter there will be solved, beyond the non choices of “Victory” or Cut and Run.” Start explaining just how we will be protected from the Islamo-Facist horde and just how you will bring them into the benevolent democratic fold. Exactly what is the way forward beyond another cute phrase? "

" War Monger writes "It's absurd to think that war can produce peace..." W.M., if it weren't for war, you wouldn't be here today (Revolutionary War, in case you didn't know how America came to be). The Civil War sure as hell brought peace to a lot of people, didn't it? Yes, it did. You're not suggesting that this country was better off before the Civil War, are you? I hope not (it wasn't, just in case you weren't sure how to answer). Germany and Italy and Japan have all experienced peace since the Allies answered their Axis with war, hence: World War II (they do still teach this in school, right?). As a matter of fact, W.M., the humans who were subject to the brutalities of Hitler and Mussolini would probably disagree with your assessment. As hard as this is to believe, it was war that brought those brutalities and regimes to an end. It's a good thing that Churchill and Roosevelt didn't have to deal with an indifferent, spoiled, self-loathing and evil appeasing far left crowd when they saved the world from itself. War is awful and I have yet to meet any person that doesn't think so. But to suggest that it can't bring peace in light of the historical evidence, well, that's just absurd. You've officially been schooled...You now know more about history than what you brought into the conversation. Use your new-found wisdom wisely. "

" Crash, the war in Vietnam was taken over by the South Vietnamese. South Vietnam fell when the new Democratic Congress voted to cut off all funding to the South Vietnamese - the Dems sold our allies down the river. The result was that South Vietnam was quickly overrun by the Communists, who proceeded to slaughter 2.5 million indochinese peasants. This leads me to believe that when you elect Democrats, people die. Why don't you try to learn something instead of spouting leftwing slogans? "

" Chris, blaming Islam is not a joke, but a reasoned response that addresses reality. Of course, I've read 6 or 7 books on the subject, including the Qur'an - how many have you read? None? That's what I thought. Islam is a totalitarian ideology that seeks to impose Islam and Sharia on the world by force. It was Mohammed's supreme commandment to his followers and jihad and martyrdom the only sure ways to enter Mohammed's version of Heaven. Muslm terrorists are not corrupting or misreading Islam, they are being true to its teachings. Try reading a book sometime Chris. "

" Matt, I agree with all of it. We have a wolf by the ear, so to speak. We want desperately to let go, but dare not... To follow the metaphor, Let's tranquilize the wolf, leave fresh food and back away carefully. Here's an interesting idea pitched by Newt Gingrich on Meet the Press. An FDR- style Civilian Conservation Corps to build public works projects in Iraq. In other words, since we broke it, let's do what we can to fix it. Newt said unemployment among Iraqi males is 60%, so that leaves plenty of time for making IED's. It'd be cheaper to pay Iraqis to rebuild Iraq than whatever we were planning to spend $1 trillion and countless lost lives on. "

" Summer,cheaper to pay Iraqi's to rebuild? Possibly, but how do you rebuild when it would get torn down just as fast without a military/police presence to insure the peace so they can rebuild? Do you really believe if we pulled out now that anything could be rebuilt with all of the fighting that would break out amongst the 3 factions within Iraq, and with the terrorist presence now there, and Iran waiting in the wings? Matt is right...We broke it, we need to fix it. How can you agree with Matt and advocate pulling out? My understanding of what Matt wrote does not advocating abandoning the Iraqi's but figuring out a way to fix the current situation, and trying to be proactive in fighting the spread of radical Islam as the military has done with Operation Iraqi freedom, and the Horn of Africa. Pulling out of Iraq now wouldn't fix anything, it would only make things worse. "

" It's less likely to be destroyed by Iraqis if it's built by Iraqis. The longer we wait, the higher the price. I hear our kids over there want to do good or go home. I think they might like the concept. Heck, they probably have some even better ideas. Would you be willing to ask your son to take a straw poll among some of his fellow marines? What do they think of hiring Iraqis for public works projects? "

" Summer, I was not saying Iraqi's shouldn't be hired to rebuild, I was saying they wouldn't be able to rebuild without a military/police presence. My son is Airforce intelligence. "

" We fight religion with religion, we fight Islam with Christianity. Also, we fight politics with politics. It is time for America to revive its Christian believes in order to win this war and continue to be the greatest free country in the world. "

" So Bruce, you are such a huge patriot I'm sure you have encouraged your two sons to sign up and join the military to fight this war on terrorism right? You may be too old, but send them over to fix the problem. What a joke. I hope that as a public school teacher you don't share your "personal" jibberish with the young minds of the future or they atleast have the intelligence to figure out your views have no value in todays political atmosphere. The fear that you try to instill in all your articles is hilarious.People, see through this jibberish. "

" To Truth Seeker...Bruce's oldest Son is in the Air Force. He volunteered at age 19. He wanted to serve his country. His father made sure he understood that if he did join the military he would possibly have to deal with arrogant people like you. What type of persons wishes someone to be put in danger? What type of mind says , "Send your kid over there"? This type of sentiment seems to prevail on these blogs quite often, and it makes my stomach turn. Shame on you. He is my son too, and neither his father or I encouraged him to join the military. We raised our son to question, and to use his brain. We raised him to make his own decisions. We are very proud of him. If you do not understand that radical Islam is a threat to you then he will serve his country anyway, and do what he must to protect your rights whether you deserve them or not. "

" I really wanted to comment on this article. I’m a Muslim from Napa Valley and would like to comment on Mr. Bruce’s opinion on the word “jihad.” I would like if everyone would look up that word and give me it’s meaning. The Arabic word is jihad but the English word is struggle. After our Prophet Muhammad returned to Mecca, wining the Mecca army, he told his companions, “You have came from a lesser Jihad (struggle) to a greater Jihad (struggle). His companions asked what is a greater struggle then the one they had just went through (losing family, being persecuted and killed, and having sanctions put on us,) The Prophet replied that the greater Jihad (struggle) is the struggle against ones self, to overcome the self. Now as Muslims that is the real jihad, to go against the desires and whims that call us to the evil acts in life. Now the Jihad of the media is pure political agenda. Excerpt from your article “As fundamentalist Muslims, it is their duty to Allah to impose a worldwide Islamic theocracy and destroy all other religions, as well as the democratic institutions of the western world. If you knew history, especially Muslim Spain, you would see the greatest tolerance Muslims had for their Christian brothers and sisters. Both Muslims and Christians lived together in peace and brotherhood, in Egypt we have Churches erected in Muslim lands and it is an obligation upon Muslims to protect those Churches and they have done so for many, many years. Islam is a religion of submission not a religion of division. We call others to submit to God not to divide each other from God. Now what is portrayed on CNN and Sky NEWS showing aggression by Muslims is pure political tactic, I don’t see them showing the other millions of Muslims starting Care groups, starting hospitals for those who have no Medical Insurance, giving to the poor in local cities. Excerpt From Your Article “One last thought. I hear a lot of people talk about how we should negotiate with these Islamic fundamentalists. How well did negotiation work with Hitler or Ghengis Khan or the Vikings? How do you negotiate with people determined to conquer, convert or kill you?” There are over 100 Muslims in Napa and I’m one of them. Never, ever, have I heard, Muslims saying that we are going to conquer, convert and kill those outside of our belief. Nor have I heard from the tongue of any non-Muslim that has been around Muslims that they have had death threats or had their lives in risk being around Muslims. I ask that you review your article and SPREAD PEACE rather then beliefs spurred up by emotions. God Bless "