Great things are seldom achieved by inaction.

While there are certainly times for restraint, this is not one of them. If we are concerned with the preservation of American credibility, history would judge us far more harshly for holding Iraq at arms length for what some would term a lack of conclusive evidence (it is interesting how the meaning of conclusive evidence differs to the president’s detractors when discussing Iraq as opposed to September 11th). While it certainly would have been easier to lob a few cruise missiles into terrorist training camps and congratulate ourselves for our decisive response to terrorist attacks on our homeland, we would have been able to sit safe in our homes, at least for a while, not risk American soldiers overseas, and continue to enjoy the same warm hospitable relations we always did with France, Germany, the United Nations, and the Muslim world that we always did; for whatever that is worth. It is precisely that type of detached response coupled with our demonstrated tendency to cut and run when American blood is shed that crippled our credibility long before 9/11. We are reaping the fruits of what an isolationist mentality has sown and this is the beginning of a long, hard road back to credibility. We have seen chemical weapons in the streets of Iraq, there is irrefutable proof that Al Queda is operating there and even Mr. Sundin admits that it is terrorists who are arrayed against us. I can normally let Mr. Sundin’s bi-monthly ravings against the president go without comment, as they are normally unsubstantiated speculation, full of partisan criticism, absent any recommendation, and just a gleaning of history in an attempt to add credibility. His last column stumbled onto the truth though and it is worth the comment. It’s interesting that Mr. Sundin would draw a parallel between WWI and Iraq and then voice concern over our current actions causing the demise of US credibility. It was only after American intervention in WWI that the United States established as a world power and gained that credibility.