The war our troops are fighting is being waged on two fronts. Our troops are fighting every day in Iraq against insurgents, foreign terrorists and religious fanatics. But there is another front to this war. And it’s not the front you think it is. The second battle line in the war in Iraq is taking place in the halls and offices in Washington, DC. It is being fought by politicians, would-be Presidents and very few people with military credentials. This second front with its cigars and sound bites, so far away from the day to day lives of our service members, may be the place where the outcome of the war will be decided.

There is a huge gap right now between the way the war is being fought in Iraq and the way the war is being debated in Washington. Our troops are engaged every day in fighting against those who are out to destroy the future of Iraq. They are seeking out terrorists, arresting insurgents and working to rebuild Iraq’s shattered infrastructure. American troops are fighting to bring peace and stability to a country ravaged by war and years of oppression.

That is not what is happening in Washington. Politicians are fighting a war of popularity. Their concern is electoral votes and positive public relations. They are not actively engaged in fighting for victory in Iraq. They are fighting for position in the political race. As the debate over the war intensifies and the stakes become higher, there are members of Congress who are actively working against the war. How is it possible that the legal body which authorized the war, the body which controls funding and practical support for the war, is actively campaigning against the goals our troops are fighting and dying to achieve? There is a second front to the war and it is turning on our troops.

This gulf between the politicians in Washington and the troops on the ground is a fundamental problem in the manner in which the war is being pursued. Our military will not get the support it needs if the government does not commit to the goals laid out by our military commanders. Our troops are fighting a war Congress approved and designed. Congress may have decided to retreat, but our troops have not. Our military and our government must work together if this war is to be a success. Right now, these two bodies are working against each other and this conflict is causing more damage to our mission in Iraq than any of the terrorists we are fighting.