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Obama Administration to Lead US into Second Vietnam?
J. D. Longstreet
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When two countries war against each other it is necessary, even vital, that both countries have leadership, which can negotiate truces, ceasefires, victories, surrender, and peace terms, plus a few other minor details. Without that leadership, the war continues with no end ever in sight. The first army to leave the field is declared the loser. Respectable, honorable, armies will not leave the field. As a result the body count continues to rise, as does the discontent of the families back home, not to mention the citizens back home footing the bill for what will have become a totally useless war.
It seems to me that is exactly where the Obama Administration will be taking the US if he sends more troops into Afghanistan.
There is so single leader of the Taliban who can call a truce and sign a surrender document to end the war in Afghanistan. Twenty years from now the US will still have troops slogging around the godforsaken hills and valleys of that country searching for someone to kill or pacify, yet unable to leave for lack of an enemy leader to wave the white flag.
Any commitment the US military makes in Afghanistan is an open-ended commitment. There is no end date. There cannot be. No need to call for a date certain when US forces will withdraw from Afghanistan, no one can tell you. To just pack up and leave is looked upon as “turning tail and running” and will only embolden our enemies in the Middle East. Not to mention the fact that it is a dishonorable thing to do to our military. But then, we live in a period of history when honor is not understood. To most, living today, it is an antiquated idea that has no place in the 21st century. And THERE lies the problem.
Honorable men do not commit other men to hopeless causes in their stead. And yet… it certainly appears that is exactly where we are headed. That tells you all you need to know about the new leadership of the United States.
Sending US troops into Afghanistan in search of Bin Laden is one thing. I can support that, for he needs to be found and summarily executed if he is actually alive. If he is not alive we need to find his body, positively identify it, and bring our troops home.
On the other hand, sending troops into Afghanistan to conquer the Taliban is sheer folly on the part of the US government, and will result in the useless loss of life of the young men and women of our military who volunteered to serve their country and deserve better treatment and more respect from their government.
To stay in Afghanistan to “nation build” is worse than folly. Decades will be required just to bring a people, who have never known democracy, to an understanding of what is required of them in a democracy. Not to mention the years it will take to neutralize the warlords who control far more of that country than does the legitimate government, such as it is, today. I am truly afraid it is a hopeless case and it is a “tar baby” just waiting for our embrace.
In our opinion, Iraq will soon be, once again, a strongman’s playground as the Iraqis throw off all vestiges of democracy and return to what they know and understand… and that is… a one man dictatorship which tells them what to do every moment of their lives. In other words a leader who will treat them like the children they so resemble. Democracy in Iraq has no chance of longevity. Iraq is a Muslim country and democracy and Islam cannot co-exist for very long. Afghanistan is a Muslim country. The same thing holds true for that country, as well.
Rather than pouring more troops and treasure into that part of the world we need to concentrate on finding Bin Laden and stop sacrificing the lives of young Americans and wasting what little of our national treasure we have left in a hopeless campaign that, in our opinion, is doomed to failure.
This advice is offered free and with no expectation of reward, and, honestly, with no expectation of it’s acceptance, either.
In a few days the conflict in Afghanistan will be Obama’s war. He will not want a lost war as a part of his legacy and neither will the Democratic Party. After January 20th attempting to reason with Obama, or the democrats, concerning the wisdom of continuing the destruction of the Taliban and building a real nation where the closest thing to a nation that ever existed was a tribal confederation, will be an exercise in utter futility. I am concerned that a lot more blood will be shed in Afghanistan before the American people will understand the complete waste of American lives there and demand that we leave. By that time, of course, there will be no way to leave with dignity.
I suspect, along about now, Mr. Obama is wondering how he ever allowed himself to be talked into running for an office he was sure he would never win, anyway! Sometimes The Fates can play really cruel jokes on the sons of men. This one is from the box marked “Most Cruel”!
When two countries war against each other it is necessary, even vital, that both countries have leadership, which can negotiate truces, ceasefires, victories, surrender, and peace terms, plus a few other minor details. Without that leadership, the war continues with no end ever in sight. The first army to leave the field is declared the loser. Respectable, honorable, armies will not leave the field. As a result the body count continues to rise, as does the discontent of the families back home, not to mention the citizens back home footing the bill for what will have become a totally useless war.
It seems to me that is exactly where the Obama Administration will be taking the US if he sends more troops into Afghanistan.
There is so single leader of the Taliban who can call a truce and sign a surrender document to end the war in Afghanistan. Twenty years from now the US will still have troops slogging around the godforsaken hills and valleys of that country searching for someone to kill or pacify, yet unable to leave for lack of an enemy leader to wave the white flag.
Any commitment the US military makes in Afghanistan is an open-ended commitment. There is no end date. There cannot be. No need to call for a date certain when US forces will withdraw from Afghanistan, no one can tell you. To just pack up and leave is looked upon as “turning tail and running” and will only embolden our enemies in the Middle East. Not to mention the fact that it is a dishonorable thing to do to our military. But then, we live in a period of history when honor is not understood. To most, living today, it is an antiquated idea that has no place in the 21st century. And THERE lies the problem.
Honorable men do not commit other men to hopeless causes in their stead. And yet… it certainly appears that is exactly where we are headed. That tells you all you need to know about the new leadership of the United States.
Sending US troops into Afghanistan in search of Bin Laden is one thing. I can support that, for he needs to be found and summarily executed if he is actually alive. If he is not alive we need to find his body, positively identify it, and bring our troops home.
On the other hand, sending troops into Afghanistan to conquer the Taliban is sheer folly on the part of the US government, and will result in the useless loss of life of the young men and women of our military who volunteered to serve their country and deserve better treatment and more respect from their government.
To stay in Afghanistan to “nation build” is worse than folly. Decades will be required just to bring a people, who have never known democracy, to an understanding of what is required of them in a democracy. Not to mention the years it will take to neutralize the warlords who control far more of that country than does the legitimate government, such as it is, today. I am truly afraid it is a hopeless case and it is a “tar baby” just waiting for our embrace.
In our opinion, Iraq will soon be, once again, a strongman’s playground as the Iraqis throw off all vestiges of democracy and return to what they know and understand… and that is… a one man dictatorship which tells them what to do every moment of their lives. In other words a leader who will treat them like the children they so resemble. Democracy in Iraq has no chance of longevity. Iraq is a Muslim country and democracy and Islam cannot co-exist for very long. Afghanistan is a Muslim country. The same thing holds true for that country, as well.
Rather than pouring more troops and treasure into that part of the world we need to concentrate on finding Bin Laden and stop sacrificing the lives of young Americans and wasting what little of our national treasure we have left in a hopeless campaign that, in our opinion, is doomed to failure.
This advice is offered free and with no expectation of reward, and, honestly, with no expectation of it’s acceptance, either.
In a few days the conflict in Afghanistan will be Obama’s war. He will not want a lost war as a part of his legacy and neither will the Democratic Party. After January 20th attempting to reason with Obama, or the democrats, concerning the wisdom of continuing the destruction of the Taliban and building a real nation where the closest thing to a nation that ever existed was a tribal confederation, will be an exercise in utter futility. I am concerned that a lot more blood will be shed in Afghanistan before the American people will understand the complete waste of American lives there and demand that we leave. By that time, of course, there will be no way to leave with dignity.
I suspect, along about now, Mr. Obama is wondering how he ever allowed himself to be talked into running for an office he was sure he would never win, anyway! Sometimes The Fates can play really cruel jokes on the sons of men. This one is from the box marked “Most Cruel”!
J. D. Longstreet
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