America is losing the Iraq war. Not the war with weapons of military might, but the war of the minds and hearts of the Iraqi people.
Our humanitarian aid, rebuilding infrastructure, making friends, etc., are worthy and important achievements, yet they will fail until the Iraqis as a nation rise up with the will to espouse the dream of freedom. America needs to do what we do best, flood Iraq with ideas that convince the people of our hope for them. Pamphlets, books and other reading material produced by local writers need to be distributed over the entire country. It is true that "the pen is mightier than the sword."
Terrorism is here to stay unless minds are changed and the population is enlisted to help stamp it out. The lasting victory is achieved in the mind, not alone on the battlefield.
Herman J. Baumann Jr.
Saratoga Springs