Letter: Real enemy is in Afghanistan

Thursday, April 19, 2007 | 6:55 a.m.

In reference to F. Jay Harrell's April 14 letter, "Democrats prefer to shame out troops," I have a response and a question. Why is the United States fighting its war on terror on Iraq's turf? Iraq had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks nor did it have any links to the enemy we are fighting.

Our enemy was in Afghanistan, and possibly in some other countries, not Iraq. We drew the enemy into Iraq like a magnet. Leaving Iraq would remove that attraction and our enemy would most likely leave. They know the Iraq people don't like them any more than they like the United States.

Iraqis have their own war to fight. Theirs is a war between fundamentalists that has been going on for centuries and we have no business being involved. There is no resolution in that conflict that can be obtained by our interference. Iraq needs to fight this one on its own and it may take many more centuries before they learn to live together.

If leaving Iraq brings the enemy to Afghanistan or the United States, so be it. It's our war.

If there is any shame here, it needs to be rendered to the Bush administration for using an innocent country to fight its war on terror. All our troops, funding and attention should be focused on the true country of origin, Afghanistan. If it spreads to the United States' turf, we will have to deal with it.

Ricky Kendall, North Las Vegas