April 24, 2007

A Word from Zach Wamp

A More Dangerous World

April 24, 2007 – When former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson met with dozens of Republicans from the U.S. House of Representatives last week, he shared some thoughts about Iraq. He said that down the road, we’ll be able to put Iraq in our rearview mirror. When we do, we’ll either be looking at a dangerous world or a more dangerous world. The tough choices we make today will determine just how dangerous the world will be.

With or without Iraq, the threat of jihad from radical Islam on a global scale is the national security challenge of our generation. This threat is not going away, and these conflicts may continue for the rest of my life. While many in our country have expressed frustration with the progress of this war, I don’t think anyone wants us to give victory to the terrorists by leaving in retreat.

Our efforts in Iraq have suffered because of mistakes throughout the war, but now we have a new leader on the ground in Gen. David Petraeus. The military and the U.S. Senate have confidence in his ability to lead our troops and make the tough, but necessary, choices on how we can best succeed in Iraq. And one of those tough choices is deciding how to maintain the troop levels necessary to succeed in Iraq.

In light of this need, the military announced that the tours of most active duty Army units in Iraq or Afghanistan will be extended from 12 months to 15 months. Extended tours are far from ideal, but they are sometimes necessary. The three-month extension will ensure that current troop levels are maintained for another year, and still allow soldiers to receive at least a full year at home between tours to rest and retrain.

As difficult as it is for the soldiers to be away from home for an additional three months, it may be even more daunting for their families here in Tennessee and across the nation. An extended tour requires additional sacrifices from families as there will be further disruption of everyday life for the spouses, children and parents of our American soldiers.

This decision leaves a lot to be desired, but it is the right decision. Even less desirable would be a reinstitution of the draft. An all volunteer force is preferable and since July 1973, brave men and women have freely accepted the responsibility of uniformed service to stand between a foreign threat and our civilian population. Today’s armed forces are some of the most brilliant, qualified and patriotic citizens we have ever assembled. We will need even more to volunteer in future years as our Commander-in-Chief has laid out a plan for preparedness.

In the meantime, these difficult days have brought our nation to this difficult decision, but thankfully our fellow Americans are willing to answer the call.