We set a precedent when we sacrificed thousands taking and retaking the same square inches of jungle in Vietnam, and then fled the country, allowing it to be taken over by those we had ostensibly been dying to protect our ally against. We reinforced that precedent in 1983 when we fled Beirut, and further added to it ten years later, when we turned tail and ran from Mogadishu – an act which Osama bin Laden himself has credited with proving that America was a mere “paper tiger.”

Virtually no accomplishment is impossible for America, provided that her people and her leaders do not waver, and do not give up on the mission before success has been achieved.

Mr. President, those who rail against the war, against you, and against America herself must not be heeded right now. You must maintain your focus, and not allow this mission to be compromised. Every day that the fighting continues, more of America’s finest – real people, with real lives, real families, and real futures – are dying. Every one of them volunteered for this duty, and every one, to the last individual, is willing to give his or her life on a foreign battlefield for the cause of keeping America secure, and her people safe.

Abandoning this mission, or allowing it to be continued in this manner, compromises and marginalizes every one of those battlefield deaths, and further decreases the likelihood of accomplishing that goal for which each life has been given.

President Bush, your party – our party – lost this election. It may well have been a referendum on Iraq; certainly the two were not unrelated.

However, regardless of the election, of impending investigations, of media outcry, and of the opposition’s demands, here is what you MUST do, for the good of the nation: straighten your back, lift your head up, and reenter the arena, committed to, and ready for, the fight – and allow America’s armed forces to do what they do best, which is to fight and win wars, and to do so decisively, leaving no question in the minds of our enemies what the consequences are of taking on America, or of threatening her innocents.

Sir, I served, as did 25 million other men and women now living in this nation. Since the discontinuation of the draft, every person who has put on the uniform of this greatest nation the world has ever known has done so willingly, and with a full understanding of the risks involved – and, in volunteering for that service, has, in essence, said to any who would attempt to harm our innocents: “Here I am. Take me instead; for not only am I able to fight to protect the innocent among us, bit I am willing to die to do so, as well.”

Mr. President, you have asked our armed forces to fulfill that blood oath, and they have responded spectacularly, like the true champions and heroes that they are. Now we must make a request of you: fulfill the commitment you made when you decided to cash that chit with their blood, sweat, and tears by going into Iraq in the first place. That responsibility encompasses these two tasks:

(1) Establish the objective, set the mission, and allow your armed forces to complete it.

(2) Never, EVER allow yourself to waver in your commitment to their total victory.

If you can fulfill these responsibilities, then we can succeed. Our troops are both committed and willing, Mr. President – the rest is up to you.