Now, I know before I even start these paragraphs that every person is entitled to his/her views on war.  I have mine as well.  In particular, about the current war in Iraq,  I am reminded of certain things.  One, the old saying is that when you have left the barn door open too long and the horses or cows have gotten out, it is too late to close the barn door.  

Four years ago we went to war in Iraq.   As I remember it, we were convinced by those in the know that Saddam Hussein and his administration had weapons of mass destruction which posed a grave threat to the civilized world, including the USA.  A great many of us supported the decision to go to war.  Many of us have sons and/or daughters who are currently in uniform serving their country in Iraq.

Today we have division in the country over the continuation of the war.  Some of us believe that we were misled.  Others are saying that the intelligence which was trusted by the administration was faulty.  Whatever the truth, those WMD's haven't been found, and we find ourselves in the middle of a quagmire which is getting worse.

The elections in November, 2006, showed a public frustrated with the direction of the war and anxious to change this direction and strategies.  As we speak the Congress is debating resolutions to cap troop levels, cut off additional funding, set a date to begin withdrawing troops, and probably many others.  Some think that this is an easy thing to do; just do it.  Well, it isn't that easy.  Once the horses and cows are out, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to close the barn door--until you have rounded up the cows and horses and put them back where they belong.  And that is the point.

Even if we could get consensus, which is possible, that this war needs to wind down and conclude, it is one thing to say that and another to accomplish it.  We have scores of thousands of people on the ground, in the air, and on the seas in the Middle East.  We need to trust the leadership in our country and in the military to bring this conflict to a proper conclusion.  Most of us lay persons don't know enough about what is going on to have an informed opinion.  I know I don't.

Will the President's surge help to accomplish bringing this to a conclusion?  He says that it will.  Senior military advisers are saying that it will.  Many of us may not believe it, but why not support our elected leaders?  Somebody needs to put the cows and the horses back in the barn before the door is shut.  We aren't ready to shut it yet; we aren't in position to bring the men and women home just yet.  It needs to be done right.  I certainly agree with that.

Let's be patient a while longer and pray for our leaders that they will do what is ultimately best and right in what we will all agree is a "bad situation."