Another Military Debacle by our Politicians?

(This Post First Ran in July of 2006!)

The weekend newscasts and the wire services carried stories that US troops would be completely out of Iraq by spring of next year. It remains to be seen if they have it right, or wrong.

As I read and listened to the stories, two things rushed to mind. One: the withdrawal is just in time for the election of 2008, and two: withdrawing the troops is wrong. It is a sell-out of those US service members who died in an attempt to make this a successful effort to liberate a people from tyranny.

The fact of the matter is this: If US forces pull out, I am convinced Iraq will be right back in the hands of a dictator with in months, if not weeks.

It is abundantly clear, at least to me, the Iraqis are not capable of governing themselves. I do not believe Democracy has a chance in Iraq. You see, democracy cannot be imposed on a people. Like freedom, you cannot give it to someone. One must fight for, and win, his freedom for it to have worth. The same holds true for democracy. It must be won by struggle. So far the only struggle, waged in Iraq for democracy, was by US forces and those forces of the Coalition.

Trying to govern the Iraqis is like trying to herd cats. It certainly appears that only a “strongman dictator” can keep them in line with brutal efficiency. The US should make sure that the next dictator of Iraq (and there will be one, make no mistake about that!) is our man.

Probably the most ruinous effect, as a result of the withdrawal from Iraq, is that the terrorists will see it as a victory and their stature will go up several notches in the eyes of their fellow Muslims. I think we made a huge mistake by not leveling Iraq, destroying it utterly, and then simply walking away. The US is not a nation builder. Never has been. Oh, but you say, we did it in Japan. Yes, but, Japan had a society based on honor. We had something to work with in Japan.

Legend tells us that when the Romans finally attacked and conquered Carthage, the killed every one they could, then they burned the city to the ground. Not satisfied, they then demolished the rubble. Still not satisfied, they took oxen and plowed the ground upon which the city of Carthage had recently sat and sowed the ground with salt so that nothing, not even a blade of grass, would grow there.

I liked the Romans. They knew how to end a successful campaign against an old enemy.

One other stubborn fact is… in less than a decade we will be back in the Middle East fighting another war against Muslims. Iran has to be brought to her knees, the same for Syria. So, if we are withdrawing our troops for more, and better, training to hone them, and sharpen them, and re-equip them for the coming invasion of Iran, then that sheds a whole new light on the coming withdrawal from Iraq.

If there was a mistake made in Iraq, it was trying the win the hearts and minds of our sworn enemy. The US should never be interested in winning hearts and minds of adversaries. The US should use overwhelming force to remove the aggravating impediment to the US will.

Sounds horrible to say that out loud doesn’t it? The fact is… it’s the way a country wins wars. If a country is not willing to go to the limit, and then some, when it decides to go to war, it is already set-up for defeat. When a country goes to war it should be with total commitment to wage total war.

No country on earth, no military force on earth, can withstand the might of the US military … when it is turned loose to do its job. But, when it never has the leash taken off, as in Viet Nam, and now in Iraq, we wind up with something less than victory and a demoralized military force. It will take decades, and another victorious war, to get our military back up to speed … if the US Government withdraws our forces from Iraq with the job nowhere near finished.

One thing, in closing, before the US involves itself in another war, I’d like to see an Official Secrets Act passed through the Congress and signed into law by the President. The Mainstream Media has turned out to be nearly as lethal for our military as the enemy to it’s front. The media should be denied any contact with members of the US military during a time of war. Zero contact. They should certainly not be allowed in the theatre of operations as they are now, and they should be forbidden from approaching the lowliest Private in Basic Training. Zero contact.

In the meantime, the people of the US need to do some soul searching and ask themselves if they are ready to be a second rate power. Because that is exactly where we are headed. It takes guts, intestinal fortitude, to be a super power. The people of the US are no longer demonstrating that fortitude.

Longstreet