Today the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions go into effect and the threat of war in the Middle East is that much closer.

However, the gap between those who are against U.S. military action and those who feel the United States has a duty to help Kuwait is far from shrinking.

If war is declared, this gap could be one of the most difficult battles for the U.S. troops in the Middle East. However right or wrong, soldiers will die. And many will return with their personal lives torn apart.

People will protest whatever President Bush decides to do or not to do and should if they feel strongly one way or another about his decision.

But these emotions should not be directed toward the soldiers who are fighting the war because they are not the ones pulling the strings.

Whether the soldiers are fighting because they believe Saddam Hussein is a madman, because the United States needs the oil or merely because they are in the military following orders, they need support.

The troops should not have to expect a “Vietnam War” homecoming that would only add to the misery they are already experiencing.

Until war breaks out, the chasm between those for and against U.S. military action is going to continue to widen. But if war is the path taken, the soldiers in the Middle East and on the way there will need to know their friends, family and neighbors believe in them—if not in battle itself.

The soldiers need us. No matter your political stance, these men and women will be fighting for the United States and the American people.