[EDITORIALS]Now, time to unify

It seems fair to say that the government’s decision to send additional forces to Iraq has come after a heated debate among the responsible bodies and the people. What the government needs to do now to successfully help stabilize Iraq and maximize the national interest is to establish a system that can deal with all matters arising from the stationing of troops, while the citizens need to support our government.
It is regrettable that now that a decision has been made, only more division may lie ahead. Already, since the announcement Saturday, several citizens’ groups have shown signs of a collective anti-government stance. This should by no means become an extension of the battles between the conservatives and the liberals. Domestic friction and endless debate will not help the government, which has already made a tough decision based on the national interest. More opposition, and the friction caused by it, will hamper the preparations of the army and may result in dangerous situations for our forces when they actually get to Iraq. Surely even the opposition does not want this.
Needless to say, the government needs to do its best to understand those who oppose sending more forces. It should honestly explain the difficulties in making this decision. Nevertheless, that does not mean the dangers of the misson should be hidden from the public.
In addition, our military needs to make preparations, as the opposition’s concerns are fairly reasonable. Depending on the projection force and the location it is to occupy, we have to devise a plan that keeps our losses to the minimum while the forces help rebuild and establish stability. The government should have access to the information of American and British forces. Training the forces in cultural issues concerning Islam is a matter of the utmost importance. All this needs to be done beforehand, in order to end the friction surrounding this hard decision. We should not forget that if the opposing voices continue to grow, the resulting losses will be left to be shouldered only by our government and the people.