Given all the talk about withdrawing our troops from Iraq, I think it is important to talk about likely consequences that I don’t hear talked about that often.

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 Rouge in the killing fields of Cambodia, as well as hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese killed by their new communist government. The United States, the United Nations and the rest of the world did nothing. However, as bad as this was, it will be small compared to what will likely happen when we withdraw from Iraq with our tails tucked between our legs yet again.

The consequences of failure in Iraq are much greater than they were in Vietnam. As it was in Southeast Asia, there will be a bloodbath in Iraq and the Middle East after we concede defeat and leave. After millions die, Iran will most likely step in to the power vacuum and become the dominant power in the region. By then, Iran will probably have atomic weapons and control of most of the oil resources in the world. The Irianian government has made it clear over and over again that they intend to use their atomic weapons to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and use their control of the world’s oil to cripple the world economy. Why would they do this? They have made that clear ,as well. 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.

Why do so many people in this country choose to remain blind to the worldwide Islamic jihad that is raging everywhere?

Look at what is going on in Africa, India and Asia. Almost every conflict going on in the world today involves radical Muslims trying to take over other countries and trying to kill members of other religions. They won’t be satisfied until there is one world united under Islam.

Leaving Iraq without a stable government in place will be a huge defeat in the battle against this worldwide jihad. At this point, it doesn’t matter if “Bush lied and people died.” Impeach the idiot, it doesn’t matter. What we can’t do is lose a major battle to Islamic fundamentalists. If we leave Iraq in defeat, where can we run to and hide? Do you really think America is safe anymore? Didn’t the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon prove how vulnerable we are? Look at what is already happening in Europe. Are you paying attention? That will be our fate soon if we don’t finish the fight in Iraq. If we don’t stop them there, we will eventually be fighting the jihadists on the streets of America.

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?

(Clymer lives in Napa.)