It’s important that Americans support our military mission

There’s a homemade sign in the front yard of a house I drive by regularly in Fernandina Beach. It’s a simple sign, surrounded by a number small American flags stuck in the ground, and it has red numbers on it representing the number of U.S. military members killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. The number is not exactly up to date, but you get the message.

My church bulletin has a section listing church members serving in the military, with a special note for those stationed in Iraq. I know other churches do the same, along with bulletin boards with pictures and other bits of information about their loved ones serving their country.

I know a restaurant whose owner flies a Blue Star Service Flag on the front gate to the restaurant courtyard. This flag has a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member on active duty serving in harm’s way. I’m glad to see the star is blue, not gold, which represents a family member who died on active duty.

Events in a country more than 6,000 miles away are directly impacting Nassau County residents, and there is no shortage of people willing to express their opinions. With so much happening locally, the war in Iraq still remains very much in the forefront of people’s thoughts and conversations.

Nassau County sons and daughters are fighting a war, a just war, protecting our freedoms and our way of life. I believe we need to be there, and I believe we need to stay until we have success. If you doubt this, just look back over history.

Islam has upwards of one billion Muslims worldwide, the majority of whom are no different than their Christian and Jewish counterparts. However, there is a radical streak within Islam, and history shows that when the radicals are in charge, Islam attacks Western civilizations.

If we learned anything from 9/11, it is that we live in a dangerous world where a small number of people can kill a large number of people very quickly.

These terrorists have the means, and the will, to use anything they can to carry out their attacks. This means the United States must have a zero tolerance for this type of behavior, and must do whatever we can, wherever we can, to clear out the radicals and give the moderates a chance. This is why we are in Iraq.

This process is going to take time, but we are not patient people. If we concede Iraq (like we did Lebanon and Mogadishu), then where will we be willing to fight these radicals next, and at what cost then?

Nassau County residents are fully engaged in this effort both mind and soul.

I am extremely proud of those folks from here who are putting their lives on the line fighting for our freedom and our way of life. They deserve our support, they deserve our faith in their mission, and they deserve victory. I wish them godspeed and a safe return.