I have received several e-mails from my soldier in Iraq in the past few days. It's always reassuring to see his name in my in-box, because that means he remains unhurt for one more day. We are in a countdown now to his scheduled homecoming, 32 days to go.
In his most recent message, he mentioned that things are bad. His exact words were, "Things are the worst they have been since we have been here." Not a very reassuring statement, but a true and honest one.
Tomorrow is Inauguration Day for President Bush. I have no doubt that the war is never far from his thoughts. But in his new term, I'd really like to see him double down. How does he often phrase it? "Get the job done."
Yes, that's what I'd like to see. The job done and the troops home. But I'm a realist, not a Democrat. It's going to take a long, hard, painful time to reach both objectives. There are a lot of blood and tears in the way of a happy ending for Iraq. But a small victory, for me, will be my soldier and his National Guard unit coming home in 32 days.
Meanwhile, please keep those e-mails coming.
