While there are some sincere opponents of the Iraq war, you probably won't find them demonstrating out in the streets. You won't find them chanting hollow slogans and getting in the faces of people with signs in order to feel good about themselves.

Conscientious objectors who oppose military conflicts often pray for peace and endorse diplomacy over military kinetics. Although sincerely wrong concerning the grave threats of 21st century asymmetric warfare, at least they adhere to their values. They don't try to cram their principles down our throats.

On the other hand, most of the activists who oppose the war in Iraq want to end the war yesterday by withdrawing our troops. They seek a quick exit strategy regardless of progress on the ground. These folks still haven't read the memo that our armed forces have been all voluntary since 1973, and our proud veterans want to complete the mission without capricious timetables.

Our brave veterans aren't victims; rather, they possess the courage to fight for democracy and liberty. Many protesters forget that their freedom of speech comes at a price. Others fight to preserve and protect the freedoms that these activists take for granted.

If anti-war activists truly wanted peace, they would support our troops in the battle against fanatic Islamism, which doesn't play by any rules. The radical extremists want to obliterate the foundations of democracy and liberty anywhere they can.

Protesters think that you can reason with terrorists and tyrants. Are they so arrogant and naive as to think that talking to terrorists will persuade them to turn their swords into plowshares? The Munich Agreement of 1938, and the more recent land-for-peace deals between the Israelis and Palestinians ought to tell any intelligent person that appeasement never works.

In a recent speech at the Heritage Foundation, Victor Davis Hanson noted that there were over twenty reasons why a coalition was formed to oust Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime from power. It would have helped if the Bush administration had communicated these reasons more effectively before the 2003 invasion and liberation of Iraq.

Certainly, in all wars mistakes are made, and unintended consequences occur. Would better articulation of the justification for war have helped the anti-war agitators to better understand the rationale for regime change?

It's hard to say, because so many liberals became fixated on WMD's, to the exclusion of other major factors. Anyway, Saddam's brutal dictatorship has been deposed and over the past year the coalition and Iraqis have worked together to generate real progress in governance, reconstruction, and security. Attacks and casualties have been sharply reduced, and Iraqis are gaining more control over their future destiny.

But try telling that to the "peace" activists. If facts are presented to them, they often resort to hysteria and shout people down, or call them names. So much for the liberal mantras of diversity, justice, peace, and tolerance!!

Would they be so opposed to success in Iraq if a Democrat was in the White House? Perhaps their fierce opposition springs from the fact that George Bush is the current president. The protesters don't seem to like the fact that he is striving hard to keep America safe and strong.

Moreover, most of the anti-war activists don't get to know veterans, or Iraqis, in order to find out the situation on the ground. Yet they try to appear as if they represent the aspirations of the Iraqis and our military personnel.

It appears that many folks that demonstrate against the war don't understand the stakes involved in this war. Victory in Iraq could trigger greater prosperity and stability in the region, while defeat could have a devastating impact on the entire region. It would help if the protesters realized that peace at any price is counterproductive, while genuine peace through honor and strength is a realistic ideal worth fighting for.

Instead of assailing Pres. Bush and the mission of the coalition, opponents of the war ought to rail against the true enemies of civilization. The primary goal of modern terrorists and tyrants is to slaughter the innocent and wipe out all human liberties. Free societies have no choice but to defeat them.

"Peace" activists could show some courage by growing up and realizing that America isn't the problem. The modern threats we face primarily come from the autocratic, fascist and socialist states remaining in the world.