"The surge has worked." According to a recent Pantagraph editorial, this is an oversimplified statement. Although I appreciate and respect the opinion of the editorial board, I have to take strong issue with their arguments essentially minimizing the impact of additional U.S. troops in Iraq.

Having just finished my fourth deployment to the Mideast theater - the last time as a Special Forces pilot - what I have seen runs counter to the editorial board's view.

There is a sense among some individuals that it is developments beyond the addition of U.S. troops that are principally responsible for the surge's success - not the presence of U.S. troops themselves. Sen. Barack Obama champions this opinion.

While I agree that many factors have come into play, those factors were catalyzed by the re-commitment of the United States to winning the peace.

While the internal struggles between Sunni and Shia Muslims are far too complicated to outline in this response, all sides, including al-Qaida, believed that the United States would react to violence as it did in Vietnam - by leaving.

By adding more forces at the apex of violence, the United States sent a strong message to all players involved: We are here to win and we will not be defeated on the battlefield!

That message was received loud and clear. As a result, hostile combatants - including Muqtada al-Sadr - began to redefine their role in the context of politics, not violence

As part of that "awakening," the coalition has begun to pay Sunnis to patrol their own neighborhoods. The editorial board quoted an Army captain as saying that as long as the money doesn't dry up, there will be peace. The board considers this a "payoff." It is, in fact, further significant evidence that the United States is not an occupying force; rather, it is dedicated to empowering the Iraqis to self-control.

A standing, paid army is necessary to security. Even the militia of our own Revolutionary War at one point threatened to desert over lost wages until an inspiring George Washington uttered his famous "gentlemen, permit me to find my spectacles" speech. Yet we do not claim that the American Revolution was successful on the basis of payoffs.

An unemployed populace is a hungry populace, whether in the United States or Iraq.

Finally, imagine if the troops would have been pulled from theater when some of our politicians wanted them to be removed. Instead of the surge, the president would have withdrawn all U.S. forces from Iraq.

The "Sunni awakening" probably would not have happened since in all likelihood, their leaders would have been killed by aggressive al-Qaida insurgents left largely unchecked.

Families would not be living in relative safety, but in fear - much as they did during the reign of Saddam Hussein. And Muslim extremists would be busily plotting to bring their unique brand of terror to our great country - once again.

Please, do not minimize the victory and relative peace we have achieved in Iraq. Too many wonderful young lives have been lost in this great effort to bring stability to an oppressed people.

The surge has worked, and Iraqis once again can begin concentrating on fulfilling their national dream.

Rancorous voices, for all sorts of political reasons, may find it easy to see no good in this war. As one privileged to serve my country, however, my voice will never be raised to minimize the efforts of those who have made the surge successful; rather, I say "Thanks!"

Adam Kinzinger of Bloomington is a captain in the Air National Guard currently attached to the Air Force Special Operations Command. He was elected to the McLean County Board in November 1998 and served until he resigned in September 2003 to enlist in the Air Nation Guard and train as a pilot.