As a veteran of the first Gulf War’s Operation Desert Shield/Storm and the current conflict’s Operation Iraqi Freedom, I witnessed the people of Iraq and the level of violence change over a 14-year period.

Following Desert Storm, I was in northern Iraq as part of the humanitarian relief effort called Operation Provide Comfort when we informed the Iraqi Kurds that we were pulling out. I saw the fear in their eyes and saw the hope they had for a better future vanish. They knew far better than we did what lay in store for them.

We were welcomed by the people of Iraq (especially the Kurds) in 1991, and once the surrender was in effect, we had very little fear of any insurgent activities or attacks. I actually went into Iraqi occupied territory south of the northern “no-fly zone” on a mission with the United Nations.

We went in unarmed, with no body armor, under the U.N. flag and, apart from some uneasiness at Iraqi army checkpoints, felt relatively safe considering the environment we were in. That mission would be suicide to repeat today.

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The dirty little secret that the average American does not know, and does not see from most media outlets today, is that the Iraqi people are glad we came back and removed Saddam Hussein from power. They want a chance at freedom and will continue to work hard to put a viable government in place.

I had the privilege to watch as people stood in line for hours, despite the threat of attacks by insurgents, to cast their first vote in free elections in 2005. The Iraqi people understood and appreciated what a huge opportunity this was for them. Despite the threats, they took a stand for freedom.

Contrast this to the low voter turnout we have become accustomed to here in the United States, where people don’t take the time to exercise this most valuable right in the safety of their local precincts. Give the Iraqis support and time, and they will establish an island of democracy in the Middle East.

We arrived in Iraq in 2003 with a credibility problem of our own making that began by leaving Hussein in power in 1991. The Iraqi people need to know we support them and will see them through to the end this time.

The damage to the credibility of the United States would be tremendous if we abandon the Iraqi people, and not just in the Middle East. We would also leave the Iraqis to face a power vacuum that would be exploited by Iran, Hamas, al Qaeda, Hezbollah and others among the pantheon of radical Islamist groups committed to Jihad.

Gen. David Petraeus’ surge plan is working, as news organizations are finally (if not grudgingly) beginning to report. We must afford him and his commanders the time and resources to institute his plan effectively. Then an adequate judgment can be made of the results.

For our Congress to continually demand arbitrary troop withdrawal dates, threaten to cut off funds and fight our president and military commanders in the field at every turn does nothing but embolden our enemies and steel them with the resolve to continue their insurgent activities. They see our disunity as a weakness and an unwillingness to see this through to the appropriate end, which for us can only be victory.

Our history in Vietnam and Somalia should have taught us that military decisions need to be made by the military commanders with boots on the ground in theater, not by politicians in Washington.

Our own government struggled from the 1776 creation of the Declaration of Independence, through the fighting of the Revolutionary War, to finally ratifying our Constitution beginning in September 1787. How would our founders have done with France looking over their shoulder, telling them to hurry up?

It has not been 11 years for the Iraqi people, and they face issues, problems and situations never imagined by our great forefathers. We must understand that it will take the Iraqi government some time, but with patience and support, it can prevail.

Robert Trahan is retired from the Army National Guard and works for a defense contractor at Fort Belvoir.