Charles Skelton: “Iraq. A good number of people are confused when the name of that country is mentioned. Let's be clear. Our country is…”

“Iraq. A good number of people are confused when the name of that country is mentioned. Let's be clear. Our country is engaged in two wars. The first is the war against terrorism, which has its genesis in Afghanistan with tentacles reaching throughout the world. The terrorist group known as al Qaeda, headed by a man named Osama bin Laden, originated in Afghanistan and was protected by the former Afghan Taliban government. After the September 11, 2001, attacks on our country, which were sponsored by bin Laden's al Qaeda, our military forces struck the Taliban government and the al Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan. Our military forces, along with allied and NATO forces, remain fighting the remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban with the assistance of the Afghan National Army. {time} 2015 The attack by our military in the ongoing conflict was a war of necessity. The second war, our attack on Saddam Hussein's Iraq originated because of the alleged threat of weapons of mass destruction against America and our interests. This is a war of choice. After soundly defeating the military in open battle, our occupation of that troubled country came about without proper planning or resources. Massive looting was allowed. The Iraqi Army was disbanded, without giving former soldiers paychecks and shovels, which caused many to turn against the American occupation. There were insufficient troop numbers to provide a successful military occupation and reconstruction.…”