Dear Editor:

I think that all softball questions should be removed from the Presidential debates. However, I disagree with anyone who thinks the Iraq War is pointless.

On 9/11, there were 344 Nassau County residents who were killed by terrorists who want to destroy our way of life. That is the real reason why U.S. troops are in Iraq. After all Iraq is the center of terrorism where the bad guys come from. Among other things, the terrorists believe that all women should be uneducated slaves and that is not our American way.

Our troops will leave Iraq after we have achieved total victory. The surge is working and we should let them finish their work in Iraq.

There is no substitute for total victory.

Ernest Howell. Massapequa