Michael Honeycutt: We must not leave the Iraqis vulnerable

Last week I joined more than 40 other Minnesota Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to attend the Vets For Freedom, Vets on the Hill event in Washington. There, we joined more than 400 other Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from around the country to tell our political leaders that not only is victory in Iraq possible, it is necessary. All we ask is that the our political leaders not pull the rug out from under us and, more importantly, out from under the Iraqi people now that real progress is finally being made.

We did not do this because we are Republicans or Democrats. We don't believe that wanting America to win in Iraq and defeat the forces of radicalism is a partisan goal. It is an American goal, and we support any politician, Republican Democrat or independent, who shares that one belief.

That's why Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Rep. Jim Marshall, a Democrat, were on the stage with Sen. John McCain, a Republican. Whatever the situation was in 2003. Whether or not going into Iraq was the right thing to do in the first place. It doesn't matter. That is a debate for history. It's 2008 now, and we have to make decisions based on the reality we have, not the reality we would prefer.

I was on the ground in Iraq for 16 months, and in that time I talked to hundreds of Iraqis. Some didn't like us; some wanted us to leave, but most did not. What they wanted was for America to live up to its word. They wanted us to rid the country of terrorists and militias so that they could live in peace.

They were willing to help us, but they are not a stupid people. They know that if they commit to the American side and the Americans abandon them as we did in 1991, it means death for them and their families. They know this, and it is real. It is not an abstract idea for them.

Most Iraqis don't support Al-Qaida and the militias, but when our commitment to stay in Iraq and finish the job is in doubt -- as it was when Sen. Harry Reid went on TV and said, "this war is lost" -- Iraqis are going to hedge their bets. They may not support the militias, but when they are betting their lives, most of them are not going to commit to America unless they are assured that America is committed to them.

That's why Vets For Freedom supports any politician who supports the mission in Iraq. We -- all Americans, not just Republicans, not just President Bush -- owe it to the Iraqi people to see this through.

This generation of American soldiers saw what happened in Southeast Asia, and we do not want a repeat of the Killing Fields, this time as Sunnis are massacred by Iranian-backed militias. We do not want an Iraqi version of the Vietnamese boat people. Never again do we want to see our allies forced from their homeland because America abandoned them. America has a choice. We do not have to let history repeat itself. This is why I went to Washington last week, and why I am a member of Vets For Freedom.

Our message to Capitol Hill was: "Let them win." My message to you is: "Never again."

Michael Honeycutt, Oakdale, is a veteran and student.