Submitted by Nolan Nelson, May 16, 2007 01:14

After 9/11 and Taliban defeat in Afghanistan, Iraq remained a haven for terrorists. Hussein's domination over oil wealth and 25 million citizens provided the supportive environment cherished by degreed professionals for planning extravagant slaughters utilizing modern science, engineering and sociological incites. Hence, his rule always constituted a greater threat to international peace and security, than pariahs such as bin Laden or Zawahiri, who emerged from the Salafi/Wahhabi heresy. David Kay's inspections confirmed an extraordinary dangerous Iraq, where freelance as well as state sponsored WMD programs were underway, and terrorist groups moved about freely.

Osama bin Laden contends the most important issue for the world now is his winning in Iraq. Zawahiri says al Qaeda victory restores the basis for a Caliphate encompassing the Middle East. Expatriate Muslims tell us the Salafi/Wahhabi heresy disregards traditional family, tribe and cultural Muslim allegiances; regards other peoples as sub-human, legitimate objects for slaughter whether Jew, Shi'a, Sunni, or Christian; and provides no caveats for economic or human remnants.

Persevering for viable Iraqi government delivers a crushing, irreversible defeat to al Qaeda by allowing political domination by constituencies committed to national/international harmony. Risking victory in Iraq means choosing a world where other countries become emboldened to exclude brutal, depraved elements from their societies, and where terrorists find no safe haven for planning a technologically advanced Dark Age. Allowing our troops to win means destroying the capacity for malevolent fantasies to become incalculable miseries within our country.

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