Fantastic op-ed in the NY Times

The NY Times has published an op-ed by a Marine helicopter pilot now serving in Iraq. (Hat tip to Instapundit.) It's lengthy, but you should read every word. I'll be honest. As a vet, his words made me cry. He represents the greatness of what our military is and what our veterans have sacrificed their lives for. With men like him standing watch, my cousin Donald's death in Vietnam will not have been in vain.

I'll quote one part here, but you really need to read his entire piece for yourself. Turn off the TV. Tell everyone to be quiet for a minute, and read the words of an American soldier.

Michael Moore recently asked Bill O'Reilly if he would sacrifice his son for Falluja. A clever rhetorical device, but it's the wrong question: this war is about Des Moines, not Falluja. This country is breeding and attracting militants who are all eager to grab box cutters, dirty bombs, suicide vests or biological weapons, and then come fight us in Chicago, Santa Monica or Long Island. Falluja, in fact, was very close to becoming a city our forces could have controlled, and then given new schools and sewers and hospitals, before we pulled back in the spring. Now, essentially ignored, it has become a Taliban-like state of Islamic extremism, a terrorist safe haven. We must not let the same fate befall Najaf or Ramadi or the rest of Iraq.

No, I would not sacrifice myself, my parents would not sacrifice me, and President Bush would not sacrifice a single marine or soldier simply for Falluja. Rather, that symbolic city is but one step toward a free and democratic Iraq, which is one step closer to a more safe and secure America.

I miss my family, my friends and my country, but right now there is nowhere else I'd rather be. I am a United States Marine.

Semper Fi.