Letter: President should save lives, not save face

Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007 | 7:17 a.m.

It is really sad that America is missing the point of this debate of how to best remove our troops from Iraq. There is only one way: Just do it.

After four years our commander in chief cannot set a date to begin withdrawal. We must face facts. It is not about saving face. It is about saving lives and saving our young people from facing a lifelong struggle to live with what this war has done to their bodies. Enough is enough.

We need to set a date that withdrawal will begin and be completed. For me that date should be tomorrow, only because it can't be yesterday. Unfortunately, Congress did not stand up to the mistakes in judgment that got us to where we are today. We are here now and Congress must take the action needed to force our president to withdraw.

Our soldiers have done an excellent job and demonstrated courage above and beyond the call of duty. All those who want to give this escalation time to work should remember this is what we have heard for four years. It's not about Bush, it's about our young people paying the real price on the ground in the hospitals. They have accomplished their mission.

We cannot fix the mistakes of the past, but Congress can prevent this mistake from happening here and now. With the help of the forward- thinking, intelligent Republicans, the new Congress can get it done. Hopefully they will cut off the funding on the date they set for withdrawal very, very soon.

Michael J. Ferrentino, Las Vegas