I believe in the cause of freedom.   It is one of the core principles in which our country was founded.  Freedom is not free, nor cheap, and it does not come without sacrifice or pain.   I have been reflecting on this within the past week, since we approached the five year mark of being in Iraq.  At first, I was against the war, because many of my friends were being given deployment orders.  As a college student at that time, I worried for my friends’ safety as they were headed to Iraq. 

     Over time, I came to realize that our country is fighting in Iraq to bring freedom to a country where oppression was rampant.   If we retreat from Iraq, it will create an insurgence of terrorism and more chaos will erupt within a country trying to embrace democracy.   This is not a war for oil, as many on the left would point out.  It is a war to bring prosperity to a country that was oppressed for many years.  In 2005, Iraqis had the opportunity to vote for the first time and elect a government to represent them.  Additionally, those trying to threaten this prosperity have all been apprehended and killed:  Saddam, Uday and Qusay Hussein, and Zarqawi, etc.

    Thankfully, the Republican party in Virginia has a candidate who will fight for the men and women serving our country in the Armed Forces.  Bob Marshall realizes that we cannot just pull out and leave Iraq tomorrow, because this will cause destabilization in a emerging democracy.   Once we stabilize Iraq, then we can bring the troops home.  It is going to take a lot to bring stabilization, but we need to persist and work with the Iraqis and other allies.  We must remember that our first priority is a strong national defense and security.