Veterans support US presence in Iraq

Some U.S. veterans attending the 60th Atomic Mission commemoration on Tinian expressed their support for the U.S. presence in Iraq.

“I strongly support what’s being done in Iraq and in Afghanistan,” said 1st ordnance weaponeer Leon Smith, who helped assemble the atomic bombs for the 1945 atomic attacks on Japan.

He said many in the U.S. have a “very confused” view at personal liberty and “what’s required to maintain personal liberty.”

He said the fight on terrorism is evidently difficult because of its complex nature.

“Terrorism is a very complex problem. We know how to fight formal wars. We do not know how to fight terrorism,” he said.

Donald Swindle, 4th Marine Division, who took part in the invasion of Tinian in July 1944, said U.S. military action in Iraq is “right.”

“We’re getting the wrong slant in the media all the time. But the Iraq strategy is working. The kids get back to school, people are getting electricity. Military people over there are really dedicated. They see it working but we get the wrong reports at home,” he said.

“If people are expecting a quick solution in Iraq, no,” he said.

There are some 500 soldiers of NMI descent who are currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. began its operations in Afghanistan about a year after the 2001 terror attack on America.

In spring 2003, the U.S. military entered Iraq amid suspicion of Iraq’s possession of weapon of mass destruction and its link with terror groups.

The U.S. has been heavily criticized for its military action in both countries.