Another Blackhawk helicopter was downed in Iraq outside of Tikrit. While the number of coalition and US soldiers who have become victims of the War on Terror mounts, and regrettably so, we have to remember to look at the big picture before we demonstrate to the world that our resolve is made of cardboard rather than titanium. Without belittling the number of casualties in the conflict, a number that is sure to rise before we rid the world of terrorist threats, we need to remember to keep the issue in perspective.

It was put to the public forum by conservative columnist Ann Coulter that the number of troops who have died since major operations in Iraq were ended was less than those murdered in the Washington DC area last year. That is a pretty chilling statistic. What is even more chilling is that the leaders of this country, especially the ones who sit on the left side of the aisle, are up in arms over the numbers of lost troops in Iraq to the point they would rather see us pull our troops out, allow the ill-equipped and impotent United Nations to take over and call it a day. They rail on about this when in actuality they really do nothing to help law enforcement decrease the slaughter of innocents right here in our own street, by our own people. Championing ideology over practicality, the quagmire in our own streets survives even the longest of wars we have experienced.

That being said, let’s look at what we are trying to accomplish here rather than what it is people fear.

For decades we have been reading headlines about terrorist bombings around the world. I remember when the Israeli’s were taken hostage during the Olympics all those years ago. I remember the raid in Entebbe. And I remember when hijackings were happening about once a month if not more, destination, Cuba. We always knew it was happening but it always seemed to be happening "over there.”

Of course, we did have some crosshairs on our backs overseas. Kenya, The Cole, Lebanon, the attacks came few and far between partly because the terrorists didn’t know how a superpower would react, a superpower that defeated the Nazis and the Japanese in World War II by committing themselves completely and totally to the mission at hand. Instead they chose to wield their malevolence toward countries that embraced the American freedom ethic. The statements were being made but not directly to the face of the nation.

Over these decades the Israelis seemed to be taking the brunt of the attacks against freedom. They possessed a few things that terrorists and fanatics living in the Arab world simply could not stand, a democratic government, a free society with western values and land within what they perceived to be the sanctity of the Arab World. Israel even had to defend itself during wars that came to their country unprovoked. In a testimony to the will of freedom Israel not only survived but vanquished their foes demonstrating that the will of freedom is always more resolute than the greed of terrorism. Yet terrorism was allowed to live on in the world, courtesy of a good amount of apathy.

Some around the world pled for Israel to use restraint in their actions, including the United States. As the Jordanians, Egyptians and the newly formed Palestinian entity continued to call for Israel’s demise certain nations around the world called for tolerance on Israel’s part. While other Middle Eastern nations like Syria, Iraq and Iran allowed fanatical Islamic terrorist organization the likes of Hamas, Hezbollah and others to train, plan and execute their activities from within their borders, member countries of the United Nations urged diplomatic solutions, restraint and tolerance while attack after attack took life after life in Israel. The Arab world took the stance that the Israeli’s occupied Palestinian land and therefore the attacks were justified. They contend that to this day. Yet, when one looks at history, devoid of the revisionism that is practiced in its stewardship today, there isn’t a single valid claim to the disputed territories by the Palestinians. The Arab world simply wanted an excuse to torment the Israelis under the guise of legitimacy, terrorism their tool.

This has gone on for decades. It most likely would have gone on for decades more had the ego, greed and the misguided bastardization of Islam not set its sights on mainland USA through the hand of al Qaida on September 11th, 2001. As Japanese Admiral Yamamoto said grim-faced to a cheering crowd after the attack on Pearl Harbor all those years ago, "I am afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant.” Two years later, Yamamoto was dead, and four years later the Japanese Empire was reduced to rubble. The sleeping giant has once again been disturbed from sleep, and rightly so.

It is always a tragedy when we lose even one of our brave soldiers in any conflict. Each time a young patriot is felled it stands as a testimony to the evil that exists in the hearts of men. Whether it is on forced march on the island of Bataan, in the streets of Somalia or on the desert sands of Iraq, each life lost should be mourned with great respect and with reverence for what those brave souls gave so that we, and the world, could be a better and safer place. But we have to consider the consequences of inaction. To allow terrorism or tyranny, brutal oppression or fanatical aggression to flourish to the point of disaster would be negligent to the stewardship of freedom, liberty and democracy around the world. Freedom is not free; we hear that all the time. The price, sadly and regrettably, is sometimes the lives of good men and women. But only the good men and women of the world can preserve the dream of liberty, the independence of freedom and the compassion of good will.

At this moment in time, when we have troops in harms way fighting the good fight, not only to afford freedom and liberty to a people that for decades lived under a brutal, inequitable and tyrannical regime but to secure our freedoms and our liberties so that they will not come under attack from fanatics who would kill us for what we believe. Now is not the time to run and hide, to withdraw and accept the consequences of those actions. Now is the time to do something that will shape the future of the world for the better. Now is the time to stand tall in the face of adversity, looking terrorism directly in the eyes as if to say, "You will not win.” If ever there was a time to use the full strength of our military and our collective will as a nation it is now, as we fight the War on Terror.

It is time to stop politicizing this war and all of its components. It is time to do what is right for our country instead of what will promote a political agenda. As we saw in Vietnam, politics doesn’t win wars - it loses them. Iraq and the War on Terror aren’t Vietnam. Let’s not treat them that way. Let’s stop politicizing what we know we have to do for the good of the country, for the good of the world.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.