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"Instead of any time-based approach to any decision for withdrawal, it's got to be conditions-based, with the starting point being an intelligence analysis of what might be here today, and what might lie ahead in the future. I still think we still have work that remains to be done before I can really answer that question."

Asked if he considered it dangerous to pull out if the withdrawal is not based on "conditions," Hammond said, "It's very dangerous. I'll speak for the coalition forces, men and women of character and moral courage; we have a mission, and it's not until the mission is done that I can look my leader in the eye and say, 'Sir, Ma'am, mission accomplished,' and I think it is dangerous to leave anything a little early."

It's obvious, Senator, why you don't want to take the time to meet with the commanders on the ground -- they won't tell you what you want to hear to validate your campaign. But it's not just the generals telling us that the current strategy is succeeding; our young company commanders on the ground are saying the same thing. On the streets of Baghdad, where a suicide bomber had struck just days before, Capt. Josh West said he wants to finish the mission, (web site) and any further drawdown has to be based on conditions on the ground: "If we pull out of here too early, it's going to establish a vacuum of power that violent criminal groups will be able to fill once we leave."

Capt. Jeremy Ussery, a West Point graduate on his third deployment, pointed to his heavy body armor as we walked in the 120-degree heat, saying, "The same people keep coming back because we want to see Iraq succeed, that's what we want. I don't want my kids, that hopefully will join the military, my notional children, to have to come back to Iraq 30 years from now and wear this." Ussery added, "You can't put a timetable on it -- it's events-based."

Where do you stand, Senator Obama? Will you continue to defend a military strategy offered up by left-wing fringe groups such as MoveOn.org? Or will you listen to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, and their commanders on the ground, who repeatedly speak of great success?

In a recent Army Times interview, you stated that you need to gain the trust of our troops. How do you expect to accomplish this when you continually ignore what they are saying? In the heart and mind of this former soldier and Iraq veteran, as well as in the hearts and minds of thousands of my brethren, Senator Obama, you've got a long way to go.

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Joel Arends served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq and is currently the Executive Director of Vets for Freedom.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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