In Mike Springer's column ("Liberals wrong for blaming terrorism on America," July 26), he fails to support his claims.

First, he claims that troop morale is down simply because of negative opinions at home. There hasn't been an increase in the volume of these opinions, yet it's only affecting the troops now? The decline in polls probably has more to do with recent announcements by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld saying the United States could be in Iraq for as many as 12 years.

Second, he claims that our presence in Iraq provokes more fighting and makes terrorists angrier. Liberals are siding with the terrorists. I fail to see how. There is certainly more fighting now that we are in Iraq; that point isn't debatable.

After all, we helped them meet their quotas on recruitment drives and provide a great training ground for those new recruits.

According to a U.S. counter-terrorism official, "the CIA believes the Iraq situation poses an international threat and may produce better-trained terrorists than the 1980s Afghanistan war." (Tariq Naqash, Reuters, June 23 2005)

Our presence in Iraq is making more and better terrorists, yet liberals are wrong for saying it?