By Ed Koch

The Islamic terrorists are continuing their ruthless bombing campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan. The casualty numbers are staggering.

Nearly every day in Iraq alone, 50 or more civilians are found tortured and their mutilated bodies are dumped on city streets. The number of American military personnel killed in Iraq is 2,670 and 19,945 have been injured. In Afghanistan, 276 Americans have been killed and 930 injured. Iraqi civilian deaths are estimated to be 46,000. Afghan civilian deaths are estimated at 3,485 with 6,200 injured.

The effect on Americans at home has also been devastating. In a recent CNN survey, “58 percent of poll respondents said they are opposed to the war, compared with 39 percent who approve of it.”

I believe this war of civilizations, which was brought to our shores in 2001, is one of the most important wars we have ever fought. In the Revolutionary War back in 1775-1783, we had extraordinary leaders, including George Washington, chosen commander-in-chief and later elected president of the U.S. We forget that he lost almost every battle at the time, but he ultimately won the war. But there were moments—the harsh winter at Valley Forge—when it all looked hopeless and Washington was sharply criticized by his fellow Americans. He had the strength to ultimately prevail and overcome the military defeats and personal attacks on his abilities.

Before we entered World War II in December 1941, most of Europe, with the exception of Great Britain, had been conquered by Nazi armies, and Russia (then the U.S.S.R.) was retreating under attack. Then, American casualties totaled 291,577 dead and 671,846 injured. Under the extraordinary leadership of F.D.R., the Allies ultimately won the war, despite losing a number of battles. We would not have prevailed had the British not kept hope alive by continuing the battle when all of the other European nations had either surrendered or been overrun, accepting the Nazi regime. The Russians were also key to the Allies’ success, having sacrificed 10 million Soviet soldiers liberate their own occupied lands to central Europe as they proceeded to capture Berlin. The Soviet losses in taking Berlin alone are estimated at 300,000.

Why do I recite these historical facts? Because I believe that the U.S. is faltering in the current war against international terrorism, and we are losing our will to prevail. We are losing our fighting spirit as a result of the fighting between Republicans and Democrats concerning the prosecution of this war.

The president calls the war on terror “the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, and the calling of our generation.” The President’s speech was attacked, as usual, by a number of Democratic party leaders with Senator Ted Kennedy in the lead.

One of the worst attacks on the president came from Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, himself a likely presidential candidate in 2008. He demanded that the president stop referring to those engaged in terrorist attacks, against us as well as others, as Islamic fascists. He said, “Fascist ideology … doesn’t have anything to do with the way global terrorist networks think or operate, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world who practice the peaceful teachings of Islam.” But what about the tens of millions who are terrorists and want to kill us? Does he have a description for them? 

The president believes, as do I, that Islamic terrorists pose a mortal threat to this country and the West. Since those terrorists have already attacked the U.S. on a number of occasions—9/11, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the attacks on our embassies in Africa, U.S.S. Cole in Yemen and the army barracks in Saudi Arabia—and have attacked commuter trains in Madrid (killing 191 and injuring 1,500) and the London subway (killing 52 and injuring 700), isn’t it Bush’s duty to seek to rally and inform the nation? In attempting to prevent him from speaking out, are these Democratic Party leaders performing a public service? I don’t think so.

People can disagree on whether we should have invaded Iraq. I believe, based on the “slam dunk” description and information provided at the time by CIA Director George Tenet, the president made the right decision.

But all of that should be put aside since we are there now. We have made major progress by ridding Iraq of a despot who is now on trial in an Iraqi court for having killed 50,000 Iraqi Kurds with poison gas, a WMD. The Iraqis have democratically elected a president and a congress. The challenge now is to prevent Iraq from further deteriorating into civil war and becoming another failed state that would be a terrorist haven and training ground.

My personal view is that we should tell our regional allies—Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan—and our NATO allies that unless they join us with boots on the ground and share the casualties and cost of the ongoing war, we will leave; they would have no other option but to come in; otherwise, our leaving would cause the civil war would intensify and spill over Iraq’s borders. 

Of course, the president, vice president and secretaries of defense and state have made monumental mistakes in the conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Great mistakes in the war against terror were committed by prior administrations. Now is the time for everyone to acknowledge the enormity of the danger we face and for reasonable people in both parties to join together to formulate a unified approach to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, indeed, to our foreign policy in the entire Middle East. 

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch can be heard every Friday at 6 p.m. on Bloomberg Radio.