By Byron McCauley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEEKEND MEMOS

'Weekend memos' give our editorial writers a chance to express their own opinions, comment on topics they have been writing about, or take a lighter approach. The opinions in 'Memos' do not always follow the Enquirer's editorial positions.

I believed the United States needed to depose Saddam Hussein. I believed him to be a tyrant, a murderer and a threat to freedom.

I still believe that.

But, like many Americans, I'm beginning to wonder when the war will be over. I know this does not yet compare to great battles of the past, but no need to get into that.

I'm wondering whether we'll get help from our allies who did not support the invasion. And if we don't, what then? I am concerned that we went to war mainly under the belief that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and would use them in a heartbeat, but so far we have found none.

I'm concerned about whether our military is stretched too thin with all its global deployments.

Mostly, I am worried about and have empathy for Kelly and Willie and hundreds more like them. Kelly and Willie are dear family friends. They have two boys. Both of them are soldiers. One is in the National Guard. The other, Kelly's first-born, Danny, is in the Army. He had served three years there, was honorably discharged and settled into rewarding career on the West Coast. He got married, had a child and renovated an old house. But before we declared war against Iraq, he re-enlisted.

A few months ago, I found out he had been deployed to Iraq. A few weeks ago, I found out he is on duty in Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, and in recent days the location of some of the most vicious fighting in months.

Suddenly, the war has become more personal. President Bush declared an end to official combat in May, but the war is far from over. One soldier was quoted as saying that that's when the war really began. Every morning, we get news of another attack in Iraq. The deaths of three American soldiers were confirmed Wednesday.

The reports can easily become like wallpaper. You know it's there, but parts of it just faded into the background. Not now.

More than five months after the ouster of Saddam's government, the troops who are here - almost all Americans - face a daily threat of homemade bombs, mortar attacks and small-arms ambushes.

That's a paragraph from an Associated Press story from Baghdad in Thursday's newspaper. It leaped from the pages. The war is more personal now.

I last saw Danny was five years ago. He was reading Nietzsche, yet being drawn to a group of young singles at a local church. He was corresponding with the girl who would become his wife. He was full of hope and promise. He still is, from what I hear.

Every day I don't hear bad news from Kelly or Willie is a great day. And I am forever optimistic. But from where I sit, it looks as if America is going to be in Iraq for a long time. For Danny and others like him, I must always remember to be thankful.