All of us, every single man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth were born with the same unalienable rights; to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, if the governments of the world can't get that through their thick skulls, then, regime change will be necessary.
Well it seems perhaps that we may have arrived at a significant juncture in human history does it not? Lots of logic defying sh*t going on at one time. I am trying to figure out how we maneuvered ourselves into a position where, out of 192 nations on the planet, we seem to be standing alone besides Israel while, not its neighboring freely elected governments, but those nation’s citizens are making armed commando raids and launching sustained unguided missiles into Israel’s population centers. Everybody else on the planet, and a very large percentage of our own society seems to be of the opinion that such actions by an armed community supported citizen’s militia is not sufficient cause for the attacked nation to punish that militia’s host nation. Not only does it seem that the vast majority of our fellow Earthlings do not think the attacked nation should be allowed the necessary time to effectively suppress the area where these rockets are being launched, but they also are of the opinion that the rogue nations, that everybody knows are arming these non-state belligerents, should not be targeted for reprisal.
All this is occurring against the backdrop of a geo-political environment where 3 years after we liberated the oppressed Iraqi people 250000 of them were grateful enough today to throw a Hezbollah pep-rally and an American flag desecration ceremony in the conquered Capital. Its one thing when Kerry and Murtha interpret the daily massacres in newly Democratic Iraq as a civil war, its quite another when Abizaid and Pace appear before Congress, looking like deer in the headlights, and admit what the Administration wont…..the obvious. The video I saw on news looked to me like the Legislative branch, who never really declared war, was pointing the finger at the Administration, who never really asked them to, and the Administration was claiming they gave the Military everything they ever asked for, and the Military was pointing the finger at the Iraqi people, whom they were hoping would someday soon decide to put aside millennium of sectarian hatred and act like normal human beings …..not a real positive sign during wartime.
But it’s not really a war though is it? Oh, we got Soldiers and Marines in harms way and doing the best they can within the rules of engagement, and they are bagging a handful of bad guys daily, but can you really look at the current state of global terrorism and conclude we are winning the war on terror? I think we all knew it was going to be a generational effort up front but its looking to me like the next generation is learning more about handling an AK-47, RPG, or IED than they are interested in becoming a beacon of freedom and prosperity to be emulated by their still oppressed brethren in neighboring dictatorships. You can call it an urban guerrilla war if you wish, but these guerrillas have sympathizers in virtually every house in Iraq and enough elected political supporters to keep any political stability at bay. There is no physical way to form an effective army and police force using the indigenous populace because every Iraqi brave enough to kill elevates sectarian revenge over the stability of the nation. And hell, I don’t blame them for it. We have been asking them to not respond to the massacres of their kinfolk, yet we do not really have an effective plan to make either side stop committing violent acts of provocation against the other. I want to know where all these brave Shiites were before we invaded to liberate them? Why were they not storming Saddam’s police stations, or ambushing his Army? Perhaps it was because Saddam would collectively punish their tribe if they did, but hey maybe that’s not such a bad idea after all, if the entire tribe is in on the action, or if none of them are willing to turn in the relatives they watch set up an IED in front of their house. This is a very violent religiously and tribally motivated culture we have unleashed, perhaps they need to exhaust their sectarian hatred before they can seriously prefer to peacefully coexist, and we can best accelerate the process by removing the limitations on their bloodletting we have imposed on them.
But that would mean admitting failure wouldn’t it? Changing course and supporting partition would also mean all our efforts to date were for naught. If we followed the Democrats advice and withdrew, not only would those cowards ride the coattails of defeat into power, but everybody else in the world would forever hold us responsible for “starting” this sectarian bloodletting. And we would lose the political ability and moral high ground to respond to future terrorist attacks on our shores. I believe this Administration, which I have supported and still do, will never admit failure and voluntarily redeploy to political safety. No Administration would walk away from a war it started, but if the next one comes to power on a platform of retreat, there is no way they are going to keep troops engaged in an Iraq civil war for the duration of their term, when they have the option of making the Bush Administration the scapegoat. Does Somalia ring a bell?
The correct military strategy for this situation is, in my opinion, to reassert our authority among the combative citizens of Democratic Iraq, incorporating the tactics we used in the only successful counter-insurgency we have ever waged, that of the Philippines War, where we cut the insurgents off from their supporters by putting entire regions of the country in concentration camps, and considering every male over the age of 10 and valid target. But that was a different time, that was back before all civilized nations gathered around a table at a prestigious world body and worked out peaceful solutions to war. And back before we signed on to rules of gentlemanly warfare designed to keep uniformed national armies from harming the civilians located in the war zone. And even though the people that agreed to create such institutions probably never envisioned a day where those innocent civilians could wage a sustained missile barrage into neighboring states without their host nation’s consent, those rules are etched in stone regardless their applicity to the current global struggle against an evil non-state entity with large popular support.
We can't escalate, and we can't retreat, and we cant defend ourselves with the same gusto we are being attacked with. The paradox of civility.
Oh, and don't look now, but there's another billion anti-American socialists on our landmass and their movement is bumping up against our porous, unprotected southern border, while a large percentage of our populace sympathizes with their socialist ideology. A large enough percentage to keep us from effectively reversing the advance.
Why do 90% of our fellow human occupants of this planet see every issue from the opposite perspective than we do? Why are the US and Israel the only two nations to consider Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups? Why do most nations appear to think that Iran has done nothing to deserve to have their right of nuclear technology denied to them? Why do most people think Israel should subject itself to perpetual attacks?
1 comment:
Well it seems perhaps that we may have arrived at a significant juncture in human history does it not? Lots of logic defying sh*t going on at one time. I am trying to figure out how we maneuvered ourselves into a position where, out of 192 nations on the planet, we seem to be standing alone besides Israel while, not its neighboring freely elected governments, but those nation’s citizens are making armed commando raids and launching sustained unguided missiles into Israel’s population centers. Everybody else on the planet, and a very large percentage of our own society seems to be of the opinion that such actions by an armed community supported citizen’s militia is not sufficient cause for the attacked nation to punish that militia’s host nation. Not only does it seem that the vast majority of our fellow Earthlings do not think the attacked nation should be allowed the necessary time to effectively suppress the area where these rockets are being launched, but they also are of the opinion that the rogue nations, that everybody knows are arming these non-state belligerents, should not be targeted for reprisal.
All this is occurring against the backdrop of a geo-political environment where 3 years after we liberated the oppressed Iraqi people 250000 of them were grateful enough today to throw a Hezbollah pep-rally and an American flag desecration ceremony in the conquered Capital. Its one thing when Kerry and Murtha interpret the daily massacres in newly Democratic Iraq as a civil war, its quite another when Abizaid and Pace appear before Congress, looking like deer in the headlights, and admit what the Administration wont…..the obvious. The video I saw on news looked to me like the Legislative branch, who never really declared war, was pointing the finger at the Administration, who never really asked them to, and the Administration was claiming they gave the Military everything they ever asked for, and the Military was pointing the finger at the Iraqi people, whom they were hoping would someday soon decide to put aside millennium of sectarian hatred and act like normal human beings …..not a real positive sign during wartime.
But it’s not really a war though is it? Oh, we got Soldiers and Marines in harms way and doing the best they can within the rules of engagement, and they are bagging a handful of bad guys daily, but can you really look at the current state of global terrorism and conclude we are winning the war on terror? I think we all knew it was going to be a generational effort up front but its looking to me like the next generation is learning more about handling an AK-47, RPG, or IED than they are interested in becoming a beacon of freedom and prosperity to be emulated by their still oppressed brethren in neighboring dictatorships. You can call it an urban guerrilla war if you wish, but these guerrillas have sympathizers in virtually every house in Iraq and enough elected political supporters to keep any political stability at bay. There is no physical way to form an effective army and police force using the indigenous populace because every Iraqi brave enough to kill elevates sectarian revenge over the stability of the nation. And hell, I don’t blame them for it. We have been asking them to not respond to the massacres of their kinfolk, yet we do not really have an effective plan to make either side stop committing violent acts of provocation against the other. I want to know where all these brave Shiites were before we invaded to liberate them? Why were they not storming Saddam’s police stations, or ambushing his Army? Perhaps it was because Saddam would collectively punish their tribe if they did, but hey maybe that’s not such a bad idea after all, if the entire tribe is in on the action, or if none of them are willing to turn in the relatives they watch set up an IED in front of their house. This is a very violent religiously and tribally motivated culture we have unleashed, perhaps they need to exhaust their sectarian hatred before they can seriously prefer to peacefully coexist, and we can best accelerate the process by removing the limitations on their bloodletting we have imposed on them.
But that would mean admitting failure wouldn’t it? Changing course and supporting partition would also mean all our efforts to date were for naught. If we followed the Democrats advice and withdrew, not only would those cowards ride the coattails of defeat into power, but everybody else in the world would forever hold us responsible for “starting” this sectarian bloodletting. And we would lose the political ability and moral high ground to respond to future terrorist attacks on our shores. I believe this Administration, which I have supported and still do, will never admit failure and voluntarily redeploy to political safety. No Administration would walk away from a war it started, but if the next one comes to power on a platform of retreat, there is no way they are going to keep troops engaged in an Iraq civil war for the duration of their term, when they have the option of making the Bush Administration the scapegoat. Does Somalia ring a bell?
The correct military strategy for this situation is, in my opinion, to reassert our authority among the combative citizens of Democratic Iraq, incorporating the tactics we used in the only successful counter-insurgency we have ever waged, that of the Philippines War, where we cut the insurgents off from their supporters by putting entire regions of the country in concentration camps, and considering every male over the age of 10 and valid target. But that was a different time, that was back before all civilized nations gathered around a table at a prestigious world body and worked out peaceful solutions to war. And back before we signed on to rules of gentlemanly warfare designed to keep uniformed national armies from harming the civilians located in the war zone. And even though the people that agreed to create such institutions probably never envisioned a day where those innocent civilians could wage a sustained missile barrage into neighboring states without their host nation’s consent, those rules are etched in stone regardless their applicity to the current global struggle against an evil non-state entity with large popular support.
We can't escalate, and we can't retreat, and we cant defend ourselves with the same gusto we are being attacked with. The paradox of civility.
Oh, and don't look now, but there's another billion anti-American socialists on our landmass and their movement is bumping up against our porous, unprotected southern border, while a large percentage of our populace sympathizes with their socialist ideology. A large enough percentage to keep us from effectively reversing the advance.
Why do 90% of our fellow human occupants of this planet see every issue from the opposite perspective than we do? Why are the US and Israel the only two nations to consider Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups? Why do most nations appear to think that Iran has done nothing to deserve to have their right of nuclear technology denied to them? Why do most people think Israel should subject itself to perpetual attacks?
They're all wrong and we are right.....right?
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