The war in Iraq and terrorism have been linked from the beginning by the Bush administration. The latest slant on this, however, has been to suggest that the war in Iraq is making the United States safer because the US is now fighting terrorists abroad, rather than at home.

The optics of the current situation back up this claim. With no terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11, and images of U.S. tanks and fighter planes firing on masked Iraqis, the average viewer can surmise that Iraq is indeed the battle ground for terrorism today.

This violence also serves as a gruesome depiction that a war on terrorism can and is being fought. Were it not for the invasion of Iraq, what could America look to in order to see that their government is waging such a war on terrorism? Bankers freezing the accounts of terrorist organizations? Manhunts through the mountains of Afghanistan? No, Americans were promised a war, so a war they got.

The problem with war, however, is that it must be fought by soldiers, many of whom will die. To date, over one thousand American soldiers have given their lives. Have they been sent out as targets for angry Arab fighters, so that terrorists don’t target American civilians? Are these soldiers our sacrificial lambs, giving their lives so that we can feel safe?