By Patrick J. Buchanan
If we had it to do over, would we send an army into Afghanistan to build a nation?
Would we invade Iraq?
While these two wars have cost 5,200 dead, a trillion dollars and a divided America facing an endless war, what have we won?
Gen. Stanley McChrystal needs 40,000 to 80,000 more troops, or we risk “mission failure” in Afghanistan. At present casualty rates —October was the worst month of the war—thousands more Americans will die before we see any light at the end of this tunnel, if ever we do.
Pakistan, which aided us in Afghanistan, now has a war of its own to fight. Its army is in a battle in South Waziristan, while the country is wracked by terror bombings, the latest in a Peshawar bazaar that specialized in women’s clothing and jewelry and toys for kids. So horrific was the toll even the Taliban and al-Qaida denied any role in it.
The 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are, after almost seven years, to begin pulling out two months after January’s election. But a hitch has developed. Iraq’s parliament missed the deadline for setting the rules. At issue: Will voters be allowed to choose individual candidates, or will they be allowed only to vote for slates of candidates?
Gen. Ray Odierno implies that postponement of the election may mean postponement of U.S. withdrawals.
Ominously, in August, terrorists bombed the foreign and finance ministries in Baghdad, and last week blew up the Justice Ministry and Baghdad Provincial Governorate. And the Kurds are now claiming their control of oil-rich Kirkuk is non-negotiable, which crosses a red line in Baghdad.
Next door, a terror attack by Jundallah (God’s Brigade) in Iran’s southern province of Sistan-Baluchistan killed 40, including two senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard.
An enraged Tehran pointed the finger at the United States, as there have been charges the CIA has been in contact with Jundallah as part of President Bush’s destabilization program to effect “regime change.”
But Barack Obama has been in office for nine months—and he would never authorize such an attack on the eve of a critical meeting on Iran’s nuclear program. Moreover, the State Department condemned the Jundallah bombing as terrorism and offered public condolences to the families of the victims.
But if we didn’t authorize this, who did?
Was the timing of this attack coincidental? Were these just freelance secessionists on an operation unrelated to the U.S.-Iran talks? Or is someone trying to torpedo the talks and push Iran and the United States into military collision?
For this was a provocation. And whoever carried it out and whoever authorized or abetted it wishes to dynamite the U.S.-Iran negotiations, abort a rapprochement and put us on a road to war.
Speculation is focusing on the Saudis, the Gulf Arabs and the Israelis, who have been accused, as has the United States, of aiding PJAK, a Kurdish faction that has conducted raids in northern Iran.
If we have any control of these organizations, we should shut them down. With U.S. armies tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, and America conducting Predator and cross-border attacks in Pakistan, provoking a war with Iran would be an act of madness.
Looking back, how has all this fighting advanced U.S. national interests? We have a “democratic” Iraq that is Shia-dominated and tilting to Iran. We have an open-ended war in Afghanistan that will likely do for Obama what Iraq did for Bush. But we can’t pull out, it is said, for if we do, Kabul falls and Afghanistan becomes the sanctuary for an Islamist war to take over Pakistan and its nuclear weapons.
And if that should happen, it would indeed be a crisis.
And so, how has all this intervention availed us?
We ran Saddam out of Kuwait and put U.S. troops into Saudi Arabia. And we got Osama bin Laden’s 9-11. We responded by taking down the Taliban and taking over Afghanistan. And we got an eight-year war with no victory and no end in sight. Now Pakistan is burning. We took down Saddam and got a seven-year war and an ungrateful Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Turks, who shared a border with Saddam, have done no fighting. Iran has watched as we destroyed its two greatest enemies, the Taliban and Saddam. China, which has a border with both Pakistan and Afghanistan, has sat back. India, which has a border with Pakistan and fought three wars with that country, has stayed aloof.
The United States, on the other side of the world, plunged in. And now we face an elongated military presence in Iraq, an escalating war in Afghanistan and potential disaster in Pakistan, and are being pushed from behind into a war with Iran.
“America rejects the false comfort of isolationism,” said George W. Bush in his 2006 State of the Union. And we did reject that false comfort. And now we can enjoy the fruits of interventionism.
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The U.S. removed Iraq as a threat to Israel. Israel is now free to continue bulldozing homes, killing inhabitants and putting settlers in the occupied territories. Israel engages in some sham negotiations which fool no one, while continuing to reject partition of Palestine. The Obama administration has had no effect on the continued expansion of Israel and the bulldozing of people's homes.
Exactly! So Pat, if YOU had to do it over again, would you have thrown the election to George Bush by being on the ballot in Palm Beach?
Part A Part B below
This is the best "I told you so" I've ever seen. And, of course, Pat is right. To answere Pat's question " Had we to do it over, would we invade Afghanistan to build a nation" , i believe we would invade but not to build a nation. I think and hope the lesson has been learned. Once we discovered that the Taliban or their guests, the Al Quida Network were the culprits in 9/11/01, we had to hit back. If we hadn't, we'd be the laughing stock of the Islamic world. We would have looked week. Had we left Afghanistan after we won though, we'd be highly respected by the Islamist world today.
Part B Part C below
Saudi Arabia would be wondering (shitting in their pants) if we planned to hit them (as we should). We could still show the Wahabis of Saudi the water is more valuable than oil. If a couple of their water desalination plants disappeared that country would fall. And oil would be less expensive today and we wouldn't have the costs of the two wars. And, in Iraq, why didn't we just send in a hit squad, a la the Special Assiniations Squad (SAS) that the Brits have?
Part C
If we were to leave all the Islamist countries, then the Imams would have a free hand and would consequently take those countries back to the sixth century where they'd be no problem to us. After a few decades under the 'comforting' leadership of the Taliban, the Wahabis, and Al Quida, Islamist countries would be begging us to return with all our wester goodies. Now that they've seen Paree, lets put 'em back on the farm. If we could contain Communism, why can't we contain Islam? That's all we need do . So, what's wrong with this strategic and benign advance to the rear?
But they tell us, "we're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here". How exactly are they supposed to be able to get here? Was the massive Iraqi navy threatening our shores? Was the Afghan air force preparing to drop Jihadist paratroopers in Colorado? The threat of Islam is not from without, it is from within. We could stop these people from entering the country….but that would be racial and religious profiling…
They say that the Jihadists want to kill us to destroy "our way of life". BS…that is just gravy to them. They want to destroy us because of our unquestioning support for Israel. They say it EVERY time there is an attack. THAT is why they hate us. But to say that is to be "anti-semitic".
It is a known fact that the vast majority of people who get bitten by snakes were poking at the snake with a stick. The US government takes great delight in poking sticks at snakes. And then people wonder why we get bit.
Solution, In and out job. Nobody likes to have a foreign army in their neighborhoods, or to be colonoized by people from across oceans. How would we feel like if the russian army was walking up and down the streets making sure that the elections were fair? Who would vote and who would be with me sniping at the russian army when they werent watching and then melting into the general population?
We have been duped!………………….Al Quida is an invention of the CIA/MOSSAD public relations program…………UBL was just like "JACK RUBY"…………………DIEING of Kidney failure, but made a great "Boggie Man", presented to America by Israel.
When will we learn that ISRAEL, the size of GEORGIA is not worth all of this grief, when they have not one drop of oil!……..Nothing of value!…………..They simply fund our politicians in such a way that they think that ISRAEL is their constituency?
End "Dual Citizenship" and tell Israel to play nice with their neighbors!……………………DEPORT all JEWS more loyal to ISRAEL!!!!!
"Endless War." Any excuse for TPTB to promote and promulgate war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Anyoldstan–name a country! Since WWII America has essentially pursued this concept. And look what it engenders: war (any war) requires money, which engenders borrowing (debt), monetizing (the Fed), the selling off of American securities, and guarantees the continued massive profit & influence of the military/industrial/banking/Washington power brokers. We have learned nothing from Vietnam–Nothing! Afghanistan, the 'Graveyard of Empires,' was the USSR's 'Vietnam,' and America knew it and rejoiced! So now our brilliant strategists, in their infinite wisdom, have enmeshed the US in the affairs of this intransigent nation. Does it matter if the US wins?–the question is immaterial; the purpose of being there is "Endless War." It is an end in itself: change the names, change the party in power–doesn't matter! Our military men & women are "cannon fodder"–endlessly sacrificed in the Name of National Security (see comments, above, by Stophel). I have enormous respect for our soldiers–theirs is the real sacrifice–but it is somehow a 'given' that ventilating a jihadist in Kabul eliminates an innocent death on Main Street, USA. I have never been able to identify such a connection!
Plus, the National Security State gets rewarded for its own incompetence. Let some Arabs with box cutters sneek by, get billions more in military and "homeland security" No wonder automakers and bankers believe they should be rewarded for making unsellable cars and uncollectible loans.
{ OFF Topic }
Famous Birthdays November 02
Musician k.d.lang born 1961
Actress Alfre Woodard born 1953
Actress Stefanie Powers born 1942
Politician Patrick Buchanan born 1938
Actor Burt Lancaster born 1913
Happy Birthday Pat !!!