U.S. won’t back down from difficult job

Eileen Schenck, Las Vegas

Sunday, July 13, 2008 | 2:03 a.m.

The Iraqi oil pipelines are now reported at prewar levels. Sabotage of the pipelines, which cost their people tremendous sums of money, have at last almost been halted. This money can help rebuild their nation and pay off war debt.

It is horrible that any war must be fought by Americans, or anyone for that matter. Yet it seems at times to be the only approach certain people understand.

We had hoped that all Iraqis would have embraced the idea of freedom. It is sad that they did not, though they seemingly are doing so at last, and are forging alliances to realize a better life for themselves and their children.

Schools and hospitals have been built there, life is returning to somewhat normal levels without the fear of Saddam’s henchmen pulling citizens off the streets to torture, rape and murder with impunity.

The cost of freedom is high and our troops and their families have paid a huge portion of it for a free Middle East.

We Americans will pull together and learn from our mistakes, which we as a population have made here in the United States: bad decisions by consumers in overspending; not foreseeing the oil problems; the manufacture of gas guzzlers without any thought to a tomorrow that loomed directly ahead of us; sending too many jobs overseas; and overlooking the importance of good education for our children.

There is a lot of work ahead but we can and will do it, as we have before.