I feel pretty good about what’s happening in the world. I have to admit, when President George W. Bush started the campaign against terrorism a couple of years ago, I was a little apprehensive.

I have felt strongly that we needed to make a stand. I was worried about the level of commitment the American people would allow and how partisan politics and the media would work against our efforts to rid the world of an evil man who compares to Adolph Hitler.

I woke up in the pre-dawn hours Sunday morning as I often do. As I flipped through the television channels, there was breaking news about the capture of Saddam Hussein. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, like I often do, I was glued to the news.

This was a great day for the world. One of the most evil men of all-time was captured and being brought to justice. As a Gulf War I veteran, I felt very good about this capture.

I felt cheated after we stopped short of finishing the job in the early 90s. It seemed like we should have taken care of business back then. Saddam was orchestrating crimes against humanity at that time and continued until we sent him underground with our invasion last year.

I admit the time was not right for such action when George Senior was president. The American people didn’t have the stomach to finish the job then. It took a Pearl Harbor-type attack on our shores to give our President the confidence to proceed with this war on terror.

There have been critics screaming about the weapons of mass destruction, or the lack thereof. Just possibly President Bush was led astray by his advisors and the CIA.

On this day, I don’t care about the possibility of weapons of mass destruction. I never really cared whether they existed or not. I knew Saddam Hussein was an evil being that hated America for his own twisted reasons. He is an evil being who murdered and terrorized hundreds of thousands of people.

Yes, there are others who are evil and are doing terrible things to people. So why not take them out one at a time? We got Saddam. Now let’s finish the job in Iraq and help the Iraqi people discover democracy and give Saddam his fair trial. The evidence of his crimes against humanity is overwhelming, but he still deserves a fair trial. It will be interesting to witness how this all develops.

Once the job is finished in Iraq, we still have a score to settle with another all-time top-10 evil entity. We must bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

Thank God we have the resources and the fortitude to be the world’s policeman. I don’t like the sacrifices made by our service men and women and their families.

I felt a great deal of pride as I watched the Kingstree troops pass through Manning Monday on their way to Iraq and was especially proud of the support the people of Clarendon County showed to them. I remember how important it was in Gulf War I.

I urge you to remember this as time goes on and times get tough again as we, as the world’s policeman, go in harm’s way to rid the world of evil. There is still a lot of work to do.