As Congress considers President Bush's latest funding request for the War on Terror, it is disappointing that some in Congress have chosen to play politics with the lives of American soldiers by delaying President Bush's request.

The liberals in Congress have even said we should pull out of Iraq altogether. This is a flawed strategy, and only gives the terrorists in Iraq more motivation to commit acts of war against our troops in hopes of driving us away. Instead we must stay the course in rooting our terrorists and helping Iraq and Afghanistan become free and democratic.

Now is not the time to be playing politics with out national security. American lives are at stake and liberals should stop delaying ammunition and resources from getting to our troops. These funds are needed immediately to provide both direct support for our troops, as well as help create a safer environment for the brave men and women serving over there.

We are at war. We may not have tens of thousands of soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy and there are no forces with tanks positioned against a potential Soviet advance in Europe. But let there be no misunderstanding: The War on Terror is every bit as important as our fight against Fascism in World War II or our struggle against the spread of Communism during the Cold War.

Commanding General Petraeus of the 101st Airborne put it best when he told me from Iraq, "Money is ammunition. It's the key to all we are doing." These funds are vital to our continued success in the War on Terror and our troops from Ft. Campbell, Ft. Knox, Blue Grass Depot, and all our Guard and Reserve troops need these funds for protection and to get the job done.

President Bush said in the days after Sept. 11 that the War on Terror would be long and fought in the shadows in different corners of the globe. We are fighting the terrorists on their home turf so that we don't have to fight them here at home. We do not need any more American blood shed on our soil, and it is better to fight the terrorists on their ground rather than in our cities and heartland.

We must pay now with funding, or we will pay later. Any effort to delay this funding would be dangerous and irresponsible. Make no mistake about it, the terrorists are still lurking, planning, waiting for the right moment to hit us again. We are zeroing in on terrorists to capture them every day. If we don't give our soldiers the resources they need to bring terrorists to justice now, we may be fighting them again on our own turf.

No one wants our troops home and out of harms way more than I do. And the longer we wait to approve this funding, the longer it is going to be before our troops come home. This funding is crucial to protecting our troops, winning the peace and bringing home the American military as quickly as possible.

The Senate needs to do the right thing and pass this bill without delay.