More than 4,000 Americans who wear the uniform of our country have made the ultimate sacrifice and many others will carry the scars and disabilities resulting from wounds received in battle. We must find a way to honor those sacrifices without unnecessarily adding to the human cost of this effort.

It is impossible to judge from the outside whether the original data on which the decision to replace Saddam Hussein’s government was justified but because we are there Iraq has now become the undisputed primary front in the war against terrorists and what is known as the “irreconcilable wing of Islam”. We have no less an authority than Osama Bin Laden declaring that  Al Qaida’s foremost goal is to defeat the U.S. forces  in Iraq.

We all want American troops to return home as soon as possible but we must not withdraw from Iraq without consideration of the consequences. It is important for us to find a way to be successful in Iraq because Al Qaida’s next stated goal is to follow up victory over the U.S. in Iraq by attacking us at home in America.

Most importantly the members of the Democrat leadership must be held accountable for their reckless and destructive strategy of using the war to score domestic political points without regard for the impact on the troops or allies. Statements about retreat, withdrawal or defeat that have been made publicly by Democrat leaders in the Senate have played at length on Al Jazeera television and have unquestionably damaged our war effort and emboldened out enemy.

It has also shaken the confidence of the very Iraqi factions whose support we need in order to accelerate the reduction of American troops and the eventual withdrawal of our forces. It makes it increasingly difficult for Iraqis to side with America if they think we might precipitously pull out and leave them to defend themselves against the victorious terrorists.

We must work to reduce our forces on the ground in Iraq without increasing the risk to those troops that remain after each withdrawal. We must recognize that it is appropriate to hold our leaders accountable but we must avoid partisan game playing while our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way.