Honor Is Sacred

Honor is Sacred

Whenever I tune in to the political debate about whether or not our country should pull our troops out of Iraq, I start to feel sick to my stomach.

I see a nation quibbling about whether or not we should have entered this battlefield. I watch accusations fly, and politicians jump over themselves to claim that they know exactly what to do. And everyone disagrees.

It is no secret that Iraq turned out to be more than we expected. More soldiers dead and wounded. More money spent. And much more of both to come.

I hear many politicians call for a withdrawal of troops. A few even call for more feet on the ground. What everyone seems to ignore is the sacred, fundamental issue of HONOR that our nation faces in this endeavor.

The cold hard fact is this: we are there. We didn’t choose to start the “War on Terror,” it found us in New York City, and we responded. And when we chose to enter this field of battle we made promises—promises to our citizens and to the other nations of the world. And we made commitments to the brave men and women who choose to put our freedom on the top of their “to-do” list.

These promises are sacred. This is a matter of honor. We must fulfill the commitments we make. We must keep our honor, no matter how great the cost. If we break our promises, we lose our credibility as a nation, forever. This is just not an option.

Imagine a husband or wife who repeatedly cheats on their spouse. How much trust can there be? Imagine buying a car with a five-year warranty, only to find that, when the car implodes a week later, that you should have read the fine print. Imagine handing over money to buy a new house, only to find that the house actually belongs to someone else. You have lost your money and have no place to live.

Imagine being the spouse of a dead soldier, a soldier who willing gave his or her life for a just cause, only to be told that your country really didn’t mean what it said. Imagine being an Iraqi citizen who rose to support our troops, only to be left defenseless when we decide to cut and run.

Imagine being a terrorist country who hears our hollow threats, knowing that all they need do is to wait until we grow tired of the game, put our tail between our legs and go home. Imagine being Iran, as it adds new centrifuge lines that can process nuclear fuel for weapons. We tell them to stop. The UN tells them to stop. But they know that we will never hold true to our promises. All they need do is wait us out. What can stop them then?

There are national leaders that have made it their stated goal to destroy America, to bring a fiery hell to our streets. If they get their way, they will bring a nuclear bomb in your neighborhood. This is a cold, hard fact. Terrorists are trying every day to secure nuclear weaponry. They will succeed.

Zealots are also spending billions of dollars on schools that teach intense hatred for America. Many of the students come from the wealthiest families. Some of them will come to America and attend our finest institutions. Many will stay here to live. They will live next door, and they will be your friends.

Someday, these people will face a choice between what they learned as children and what they experience in America. Will they see a nation with honor, one that fulfills the commitments it makes? Or, will they see a nation that doesn’t follow any moral code, one that repeatedly breaks its promises, one that turns its back on its people and its allies, one that can’t be trusted? Will they see a nation that fits the rhetoric of the zealots, a hedonistic people with little moral fiber and no sense of loyalty and commitment?

We must stand by our promises to the rest of the world and to our own citizens, no matter what the cost. Because Honor is Sacred. Going forward, however, I hope that our nation’s leaders take the time to fully understand history and humankind more thoroughly.