The Democrats lack a victory strategy for the war against terrorism. They don't realize what victory means: stabilizing the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan as part of encouraging and assisting a transformation of the Middle East; disruption and destruction of terrorist networks; ending the war drive of the Iranian mullahs (with their threats against Israel); and ending the nuclear weapons programs of North Korea and Iran.

The Democrats also don't realize what defeat would mean: a bloodbath in Iraq (as in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge); a weakening of the forces for democracy in the Middle East; strengthening the hand of the Iranian mullahs against their own people and against Israel; emboldening Al Qaeda and their allies; greater likelihood of terrorist attacks against innocent civilians on American soil.

The liberation of Iraq is justified for many reasons: Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, the need for a preemptive strategy before Saddam Hussein became an imminent threat, and the goal of regime change and democracy in Iraq. In addition, the Saddam Hussein regime failed to comply with numerous UN resolutions, including resolution #687 which was passed on April 3, 1991 and outlined the ceasefire conditions of the first Gulf War.

In October 2002, when the Congress authorized military action, there was bipartisan agreement on spreading democracy and regime change. The resolution authorizing military action stated: "it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime."

Even the Clinton administration had correctly identified the need for democracy and regime change in Iraq, but this was primarily a verbal policy and barely put into effect. After 9/11, the importance of actually implementing a regime change and liberation of Iraq become more obvious than ever.

The liberation of Iraq is a central front in the war against terrorism, not a distraction from it. It is a war of necessity, not a war of choice, because we must deal with the root causes of terrorism, not merely its symptoms. The backwardness and oppression and lack of freedom in the Middle East are a breeding ground for terrorism.

The best way to attack terrorism at its roots is to spread freedom and democracy and modernity in the Middle East, breaking the bonds of oppression and exploitation that fuel a hateful ideology.

In that sense, Iraq is connected to 9/11, just as the entire Middle East is connected to 9/11. The oppression and lack of modernity in the Middle East, pervasive and powerful, is connected to 9/11 through a thousand threads of hatred, brutality, and propaganda. The oppression of the Muslim and Arab people by their own governments is truly the breeding ground for terrorism.