Eric Braeden

Eric Braeden has portrayed Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless for more than 27 years. In that time, we've got to know Victor as a business mogul, father, husband (many times over) and, most of all, a brilliant adversary with a solid core belief system.

Like many political activists, Eric has not been silent about his feelings concerning the Iraq War. And, like many of us, he has been watching and studying the situation closely and is very critical of the way the Bush administration has handled the debacle so far. With Eric's own background and experiences to draw upon (he was a boy in Germany when British troops occupied the country after World War II), he has strong feelings about where and when the administration went wrong.

"Let me be very honest," Eric begins. "I had the same visceral feeling about (Saddam) Hussein: We need to shut that guy up. Bush Sr. knew that if they removed Hussein and the Baath Party - it was secular - you'd create a vacuum. (If we impose democracy) the Shiites would take over by virtue of majority.

"There was no need for this. Hussein would never have turned off the oil spigots, and we knew that. We also knew that he supported terrorist groups."

So, the question remained, why did we take action? And once action was taken, how should the occupation be managed?

World War II

"The occupation was handled very amateurishly. When you occupy a country, you do it massively to make sure you're in charge. We should have gone in with 500,000 troops."

Eric further explains from his own experience: "When you are a country invaded, the first reaction of the people is anger. I can remember throwing rocks at the British tanks and trucks as they patrolled the streets of my hometown after World War II. At the time, of course, I was angry."

Eric questions the skill of those who handled the initial Iraq invasion, especially since we have all of these examples from history to fall back on, stating: "For the people who ran the invasion not to have known this (anger and defiance) is amateurish. You need to disarm the country. We knew how armed they were - we're the ones who armed them. You will have to stay there 10 years to make sure it all goes well. Re-establish the infrastructure and make the streets safe. You leave no doubt as to who's in power."

Before all of this mess in Iraq happened, "the real issue was Afghanistan. Had we gotten those bastards who attacked our country, we could have made an example of Afghanistan. But, we went to Iraq. Someone had something to prove."

Sense of fear

Most of all, Eric understands America's strengths and fears that some of us tend to forget. "America is a very strong country. When you really are that strong, you don't need to constantly create a sense of fear. We must not listen to the doomsday scenarios people try to feed us. They are full of (crap)."

Eric is passionate about his beliefs and about his country, and he is glad to see the stirring of passion in other Americans. "We need to become a part of the political process. The (2006 midterm) elections proved that people have woken up and they wanted change. That is the essence of democracy. We also must be careful - people chide those who offer a critical view as unpatriotic. The essence of patriotism is criticism. We are a country of immigrants, we are sons and daughters of immigrants. People are so arrogant, they tend to forget that."

So, what is Eric's last word on the subject (at least in this interview column)? "We must lead the world judiciously. People used to look up toAmerica. The essential part of democracy is primarily to lead by example.

"We are entering exciting times. I have great faith in this country and the democratic process."

- Cindy Elavsky