Rationale for Iraq war still holds

To the editor:

A bumper sticker read "Had enough? Vote Democrat." I've had enough of those who feel hindsight should have bearing on political legitimacy. Case in point: Iraq. President Bush alone did not send us to war. The Senate voted 77-23 and the House voted 296-133 authorizing military action in Iraq. Included in the record are "yea" votes from Democrats Clinton, Daschle, Feinstein, Gephardt, Kerry and Schumer.

Democrats want us believe that they were misled by faulty intelligence from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Russia, who confirmed the case which was presented to the American public. While only scant evidence of an active WMD program was found, it does not erase the fact that multiple intelligence sources supported the case for war. It does not erase the fact that 42 countries joined a coalition to remove Saddam Hussein as part of the global war on terror. It does not erase the fact that we have a strong operating base for influencing Iran. It does not erase the fact that terrorists from Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Third World terrorist breeding grounds are being killed in Iraq instead of conserving resources for future attacks in the U.S.

Mistakes and miscalculations have been made in Iraq as they have in all wars. Sadly, lives have been lost and casualties have occurred as in all wars. However, the enemy is being confronted in sharp contrast to the apathetic policies of previous liberal leadership, which fostered and emboldened the terrorist threat we're facing today.

CHAD CRAFT, Jackson