This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.

- President George W. Bush, 2007 State of the Union Address

It’s interesting to hear about Iraq these days.

It seems most Americans, and almost all mainstream media sources, have forgotten why we are there. It seems we have forgotten what we are fighting for. The second day that will forever live in infamy has now become that day a couple years ago that really sucked. The first day that will forever live in infamy, Pearl Harbor, December 7, is largely forgotten as well. But sadly enough, September 11, which was barely five years ago, seems to have been forgotten by our country.

I remember where I was. I was in algebra class my senior year of high school, sitting in a seat that was not normally my own. I was sitting sideways in my chair, facing across the aisle to talk to my friend Tim. The loudspeaker gargled, and we could barely understand what had been said, except something about the World Trade Center, and turn on your TVs. We watched flames shooting out of the tower, and Tim and I both joked about it a little. “What kind of idiot pilot can’t see a building?”, we thought. Then we watched as the second plane flew into the second tower, and the classroom became silent. We automatically knew, collectively, that this was not an accident anymore.

We went on to hear about the bravery of the men and women who foiled the hijackers’ plans, and losing their own lives in the process. We heard about another plane being flown into the Pentagon as well.

Three thousand people lost their lives that day.

I cried – cried for what it meant for our country, cried for what we all knew what inevitably must be done, cried for the families who lost loved ones that day, cried for the bravery of the people who did not have to die – but did, to protect the rest of us, to save our lives. I cried as I saw people jumping, falling to their deaths.

When President Bush declared war, we as a nation were united behind him. We knew what we had to do. After September 11, 2001, he had one of the highest approval ratings of any president in history. And when he declared war, he declared war not only on Afghanistan, but on anyone, anywhere who would seek to extinguish our freedom, justice, and liberty – that anyone who gave aid or comfort to terrorists would also be considered our enemies, and that we were in this for the long haul. We were going to show terrorists, regardless of where they were, that we would not be bullied. Congress voted in almost perfect unison to go to war, because we, as a country, knew it had to be done.

And here we are, roughly five and a half years later, and all of this seems to have been forgotten.

We hear about Abu Ghraib in the news, and there’s a running tally of deaths of our military men and women in the paper every day. It struck me as funny when it was a big event in the media when the deaths of our servicemen and women fighting in the Middle East surpassed the deaths of the victims of 9/11. Strangely enough, I don’t think it was a big deal when the deaths in World War II surpassed the deaths of those at Pearl Harbor – matter of fact, I think it was expected. And usually, a little over 3,000 deaths from being at war is normally considered to be extremely good, especially considering what we’re facing.

We’ve made leaps and bounds in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the surge has been in effect, violence has dropped almost 80%. Al Qaeda is fleeing Baghdad. We’re working side-by-side with an Iraqi military and police force that is growing and becoming stronger every day. Women proudly showed off ink-stained fingers in the first free election in Iraq ever just a few short years ago. There is now water purification and stronger electrical power production in Iraq.

And war for oil? Well, oil is being produced all right. But under Saddam's regime, it was used as leverage to keep you in line. Being as oil is one of Iraq's main sources of income, he could easily have a pipeline shut down, power and water turned off, to keep you in line.

Schools are being renovated, rehabilitated, rebuilt. Iraq now has an operational Navy and Air Force, as well as a Counter Terrorist Unit. Children are getting, for the first time ever, vital vaccinations that we in America take for granted. For the first time ever, there was a televised debate between two candidates for President in Iraq!

But thanks to our defeatist media, and the Democrat-controlled Congress that wants to see us lose, all of these positives have been ignored, and the reason we are there has been forgotten.

I had thought that after there was an assassination attempt on Vice President Cheney, perhaps the nation would awake again to the reality of the situation.

We are not there for oil. We are not there for money. We are there because terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere want to kill us. We are fighting to ensure the future of the United States, and our children, and their children.

After the assassination attempt, we had Bill Maher “joking” that he wished it had been successful. Popular liberal blog Democratic Underground had these comments from readers: