In 2003, the U.S. ousted a mass murderer who committed GENOCIDE against over a hundred thousand Iraqi inhabitants (the Kurds) … Are the pains of the Holocaust not “fresh” enough for my fellow Jews to be able to feel empathy for those who suffered a similar fate to ours by the hands of Nazis? Are we not motivated nor mindful of the suffering that the Kurds felt by the hands of a ruthless dictator? Does it matter that the U.S. was “wrong” about Iraq having nukes? Isn’t the mere fact that this sick maniac was ousted from power and brought to justice under international law enough to satisfy the cause?

It wasn’t a war for oil; our oil prices continue to rise and the U.S. is not a part of the oil cartel. Stop calling it one.

The Iraq war was just another step in the war against terror. Terror is inflicted not just by fringe radical Islam groups, but also by maniacal leaders such as Slobodan Milosevic, Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. His oust was a necessary good that came at a costly, but worthy price.

We as a nation need to quit being so childish to believe that wars are won over night. “Speedy victory” is nothing realistic or positive. War is a commitment that cannot be broken without serious consequence.

In the 70s, the U.S. left Vietnam to massive support by the American public. However, those South Vietnamese who had dedicated their lives to protecting their country against communism fell as they were massacred by the North Vietnamese (who easily penetrated into the south without the U.S. to help defend it). Did this make the news in the U.S.? Did those hippies who protested the war because people were dying care? No. They didn’t. They went back to their drugs and pretended all was well.

Again, we are at a crossroads. We can, for the alleged short-run good of the U.S., leave Iraq and let it collapse into total civil war until a new evil leader rises to power by manipulating the chaos. This comes at the expense of long term U.S. credibility in foreign affairs. Our credibility CAN be rebuilt if the liberals who know nothing of war (because they refuse to admit the importance of war) just let the U.S. troops continue to do their jobs and establish a relatively peaceful, functioning democracy. To quote John McCain (who himself quotes our soldiers), “Let us win this war.”

Do not protest Iraq and cry for those in Darfur. The two situations are of a genocide dichotomy. You cannot grieve those in Africa and not those who died in Iraq- – that is wrong and hypocritical. I’m tired of hearing people protest the Iraq war and promote helping out the Sudanese. Both are situations where countries grossly violated human rights and refused to cooperate with the international community. Do not support half of the cause; that’s a waste of my and every American’s time.

Similarly, if you feel the Holocaust was a tragic event, do not wallow over the Iraq war. If we had to spend an extra three or four years fighting the Germans so that the Jews in concentration camps could have been liberated, would it have not been worth the price? Or would we turn to our leaders and voice ourselves through MSNBC and say, “It’s been three and a half years … we’re tired of waiting for victory … let the Jews fend for themselves”?

The lesson of the Holocaust was supposed to be “never again.” Let us, as Americans, rise to our responsibility as the most free and powerful nation in the world. I’m sure you’ve all seen the movie Spider-Man… “With great power comes great responsibility.” With that said, we have a responsibility to uphold the tenants of freedom based on U.S. democracy around the world.

Jeffrey is a senior in economics and a staff writer for Buzz Magazine.