I am in constant dismay on how easy it is for facts to be altered and assumptions to be justification enough. First off, just because one does not support the war does not mean one does not support the troops. Secondly, the war may have started out as an attempt to protect our freedoms, but it has become a war to protect the liberties of the Iraqi people.

A week after Christmas, a high school classmate of mine was killed in Iraq. He died for the belief and dreams of peace and freedom this country was based on. However, my street and my home are no more or less safe because of his death. His death is not securing my freedom nor the freedom of anyone in this country. His death is securing and promoting the freedom and dreams of peace for the Iraqi people. Please do not say the war in Iraq is protecting us.

Militants and so-called terrorists no longer need a state, country or some sovereignty to wield power and attack another nation. The only way you can attack the United States is if the attacker is unknown. Iraq was never a threat to our safety or our freedom.

In fact, the only way for a country to win a war against the United States is to make us remove our own freedoms and rights from ourselves. We are a country founded on "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The more rights we restrict, and "freedoms from" we create, the more limits we put on our Pursuits of Happiness.

Brian Koch is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.