The radical liberals in America are at it again, and this time they are blatantly attacking our troops. Across the country, it is becoming more and more clear that they do not support the troops as they often claim, but that their hatred of the war in Iraq and the Bush Administration is spilling over onto the brave veterans who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way.

The most obvious and despicable example comes out of – you guessed it – Berkeley, California! On Sept. 28, members of the fanatically anti-American group “Code Pink” marched to the Marine Corps recruiting office in downtown Berkeley in an attempt to run them out of the city. They put up signs, such as, “Recruiters lie, kids die,” and other such nonsense. How ironic that they use their freedom of speech to attack the very organization protecting that freedom.

“But that is just Berkeley,” you might say. Although we have grown to expect all types of craziness from these radical left-wing loons, this phenomenon is not unique to Berkeley. Just this last week, a high school in Forest Lake, Minnesota, refused at the last minute to allow Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from the group Vets For Freedom speak to their students. The school said the event was “too political.” This school has shown Al Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” as part of their curriculum. The film is not only highly political, but its factual basis is still in question.

We have had attacks on the troops on our own campus. In January of 2005, 17 faculty members led by Professor Emeritus Thomas J. Scheff tried to kick military recruiters off campus. They also threatened the ROTC program with a review – a first step toward kicking them off campus. They cited the Dept. of Defense’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as the reason. This, of course, is just another excuse by the left to try to rid the country of our military, which to them is a loathed enemy.

At a recent local anti-war rally after I presented myself as an Iraq veteran who agrees with the war, I was called a killer, a fascist, a rapist and was even spat upon by the “peaceful” protestors.

We live in the greatest country that has ever existed. We have more freedoms, more opportunities and better quality of life than any people in history. Travel abroad and you will see what I mean. The only reason we have persisted as a nation is because, in the times of the greatest need and greatest threat to our way of life, there have been young men and women who have volunteered to put their lives in danger to protect our nation. From the Battles of Concord and Lexington to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 1.3 million Americans have died in the defense of our country. The only reason we have a country today is because of them, yet these radical leftists are still determined to disrespect, defame and undermine the very troops who give them their freedom. The irony is sickening. Either these people are completely delusional, they lack the most cursory understanding of world history or they really do hate this country and want it to cease to exist.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Our country has been threatened in the past, and there is no question that it will be again. We must have a military to protect us. Luckily for us, recruiters across the country are keeping military units staffed with brave young people who join the military in droves knowing they will most likely be sent to war. We should be thanking each and every one of these men and women, not trying to rid our cities and campuses of their presence. Code Pink and Professor Scheff and crew, as well as radical leftists everywhere, will be begging for the military to come back the day after they are disbanded and our enemies take their place.