Our nation is at war – a war that began in January 1991 with the invasion of Kuwait. This tyrannical dictator is not only willing to torture and deprive his own people but is also interested in controlling other nation states in the Middle East.

Saddam Hussein is still in violation of the 1991 Persian Gulf War cease-fire agreement that gave him 45 days to disarm. Twelve years and 17 United Nations resolutions later he continued to play footsies with the world.

Hussein’s consistent refusal to disarm prompted President Bush and his administration to seriously engage the Security Council of the United Nations to unanimously pass Resolution 1441 insisting he disarm or suffer severe consequences. Yet, until the United States military buildup around Iraq, Saddam continued to deceive the U.N. inspectors charged with verifying disarmament.

Many in our country and around the world refuse to acknowledge these and other more shocking facts and prefer to accuse our president of going to war over oil or to complete the unfinished business of his father or to just attack him personally.

Democratic leaders, protesters and the French government appear to have an interest in diverting the dialogue for different reasons. The French leadership’s reason has and will become clearer as we go forward. Their financial gains are being threatened. French oil contracts with Iraq and other business dealings in conflict with the United Nations are in jeopardy.

Many Democrats still have not forgotten their guy lost the 2000 election. An election where the U.S. Constitution was upheld and the electoral votes carried the day. These same Democrats had no problem with President Clinton carrying out military action without congressional or U.N. votes. Their support of the McCain-Lieberman bill of 1998 to remove the Hussein regime and disarm Iraq was overwhelming.

Protesters, on the other hand, appear the most confused. I honor and appreciate their right as free people to express their opinions. That is exactly what our troops and our president are fighting for in Iraq. They would not be able to display their differences under Saddam Hussein yet many accuse President Bush of being the evil aggressor, acting like a cowboy.

They all seem to be fearfully responding to a president with conviction and an unwavering focus on protecting the freedom of our neighbors and friends and other oppressed people of the world. Whatever happened to the 1960s flower children who stood for liberation and human rights for all? Afghanistan and Iraqi women and children have been subjected to the most horrendous atrocities known to mankind. Why are they not demonstrating in favor of Operation Enduring Freedom?

We are fighting in the desert but we are no longer playing in the sandbox like little kids. It’s time to understand this is not the Vietnam War. This isn’t about a political war run by Washington politicians without the will to win who tied the hands of our military.

Those willing to disrupt society, not simply display their opinions at a time when we all should be focused and watchful for terrorist threats, are living in the past. Those same people are depleting valuable law enforcement resources with their insistence for civil disobedience and arrest.

We as United States citizens awoke to a new order of war on Sept. 11, 2001. We were hit squarely between the eyes with the two by four of terror. We are no longer at war with nation states possessing large military machines. Sept. 11 taught us that our enemy can plan attacks on all of us by commandeering our own equipment with 19 people and kill thousands of freedom loving people simply by implementing a good plan. Weapons of mass destruction can now be delivered in small containers by one person and deposited precisely on target.

The time has passed for accusations and actions based only on emotion. We must focus on the facts and face the 21st century with a new somber seriousness. We are all fortunate that we have a president willing to put it all on the line just because it is the right thing to do.

God bless our troops, our president and the United States of America.

Dick Campbell lives in Orrington.