The war with Iraq has been unlike any war. It is beamed back into American living rooms 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The information from the battlefield streams back in real time, allowing us in some instances to learn of things before some government officials learn about them.

The unprecedented information flow has made the war with Iraq more personal for Americans than any war since perhaps the Civil War.

Even still, for many of us the war with Iraq might as well be on Mars. We are so insulated from what is happening in that part of the world.

Sure many of us may know soldiers and we may be flying the Stars and Stripes, but our day-to-day lives have largely gone unchanged. There is still a hot meal waiting at home, along with lights and running water. There is still a ball game on TV and people still continuing to shop.

Life in America moves forward. This is a good thing.

The fact that war with Iraq is more personal for us than most recent wars is also a good thing. Seeing war up close and personal makes it real and not just a game, or some action in some far off foreign land.

War is real. War should be a last resort. Going to war should be the most difficult decision our leaders make.

There are also other conclusions one may draw from watching -- however limited in scope it is -- the action in Iraq. While it is true enough that experiencing war up close and personal should strengthen one's view that war should be avoided at all costs, one is also seeing pictures of an oppressed people needing help.

There comes a time when it is apparent diplomatic measures, or other means, will not improve the lives of a people, or the security of this nation. The Iraqi people have suffered for many years at the hands of the Iraqi leadership. Couple that suffering with the threat to this country's security and you have more than enough reason to fight this war.

We live in a wonderful country that offers all the opportunity to speak freely. I can't help but wonder if those protesting the war in Iraq have truly thought about the alternative of doing nothing. In a book by Elie Wiesel about the holocaust, Wiesel suggests the greatest sinners, during the holocaust, were not those that committed the acts but those that stood by, knowing what was happening, and did nothing.

The United States military is doing something in Iraq. It is liberating a people from oppression and helping to insure all of us, including war protesters, will continue to have the right to speak freely.

For those that may argue why we don't take action in other parts of the world where there are oppressed people, my answer is we should. We can make the world a better place through many means, including diplomatic and military. We must prioritize our actions based on the greatest danger to our country and citizens and the needs of the oppressed around the world.

While the military end-game appears close in Iraq, our mission there must continue for years to come. We have an opportunity to bring democracy to a region in need of stability and in need of the freedoms we take for granted.

The war with Iraq has been unlike any before. We have seen the worst and the best that war brings. The world can't afford to have Americans forget, or ignore, either lesson.

Neal Ronquist can be reached at 434-2201 or by e-mail at :mailto:neal.ronquist@austindailyherald.com