Now, I served in the army for just three years in Fort Campbell, Ky. and finished with the rank of SPC. My “job,” as it can be called, was as an Intelligence Analyst. I completed a tour in Iraq and learned a lot about the country. My wife also completed a tour during the same time period, and is now on a second. I hate the fact that she’s gone, however, I still support her in all her actions. I still support the military and look forward to joining her again after I complete my degree and my enrollment in ROTC (yes, that institution that “uses people and spits them out”). I saw many improvements during my time in the sandbox and saw how grateful the people were that we helped.

So I really don’t appreciate the smug, superior attitude of the anti-war group on campus. It’s very disrespectful, and of those who are supposedly “combat vets” I’m still trying to figure out why they seem so afraid to give their rank and where they were stationed. Heck, I gave you mine. There’s definitely nothing wrong with opinionated viewpoints by retired military members. Retired generals give their opinions all the time — so many of them are quoted on CNN, it’s ridiculous!

Now what I really wanted to do was discuss some of the problems facing us in Iraq. Yes, there are plenty of people that want us gone, but surprisingly, a vast majority of them are fighters from Syria, Iran, Jordan and elsewhere in the region. In regards to the sectarian violence, there’s a real political reason the United States stays embroiled in what many experts have termed a “civil war.” It’s called politics people.

Now see if you can follow this: The most agreed upon consequence of us leaving this region in the midst of a civil war is that the country will split itself into three independent regions, divided along religious boundaries. In one area you’ll have Kurdistan; in another, the Shiites; and in a much smaller area, the Sunnis. Now, the major problem with this is that you have now destroyed a nation: you have to talk to the Kurds for oil, who will probably be too busy assaulting Turkey; the Shiites will gladly take more support from Iran and crush the poor Sunnis, who will be left with the most resourceful part of the country.

This whole scenario results in a further destabilization of the region which is — guess what? — Bad. For. Us. It results in a stronger Iran (which I hope people realize is a very bad thing) and possible alienation of our very few allies in the Middle East.

Alrighty, one last thing: the likelihood of a draft. Top military officials insist that the draft is a bad idea. They know from experience through Vietnam compared with the military force today that even if it results in a smaller army, a volunteer military responds to orders better, produces better quality soldiers and fights more effectively overall. In fact, the first person to bring up the draft concept for the war in Iraq (back in 2003) was a U.S. Senator, his idea was shot down by military officials. Imagine that.

In closing, all I really have to say is get out, stop protesting, do more research, and do the politically active thing: Vote. 53 percent of people registered to vote ages 18-24 did not do so in the last presidential election. This group of young people is the largest anti-war demographic, and you wonder why you have a

Senate that still has “too many” Republicans and results in deadlocked votes, lacking the ability to override a presidential veto? Yeah, crazy isn’t it?

Adam Holliday, 20 is a retired Iraq vet and biology major.