ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?

(Helena Cobban, Aljazeera)

(ABC NEWS, CNN, Charleston Daily Mail)

(USA TODAY, Frazer Chronicle)

 

Talk about contradicting headlines, in Aljazeera dated September 5, 2013, THE CREDIBILITY TRAP, and in the USA TODAY, September 6, 2013, LONG WAR SAPPED POST-9/11 FERVOR. One of course is talking about Syria, the ongoing discussions regarding which type of military action to take against Assad and his chemical use on his own people. The USA TODAY’s, article detailing the more than a decade of the billions that have been spent, the thousands who have lost their lives, and the tens of thousands who have been injured externally as well as internally.

 

According to some, the United States now faces a new human rights challenge, the Syria question, the use of chemical agents against its own people, and whether to react with political force, military force…..or both. How can I aptly phrase my response, let me see…..ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRICKEN MIND? There is absolutely no way that the United States can respond with any military activity.

 

I’ve already said as much in several other blogs, my wife is getting sick and tired of proof reading and editing the damn things. Exactly how many ton of concrete block do some of our political leaders need dropped on them before they get it?

 

I periodically watched the congressional hearings on President Obama’s request for authorization to launch a military strike against Syria. There were almost anecdotal phrases used, like red line, troop scenarios, preventing stockpiles of weapons from falling into the hands of extremists, credibility, weak leadership, and hawks verses doves.

 

Again there seemed to be little thought to the prospect of what happens if…..what if U.S. troops are used, the classic boots on the ground scenario…..and the question of what would be classified. The little General, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Martin Dempsey answered the question of what would be classified with an answer that was laughable…..(the answer to that question will be addressed…..behind closed doors.)

 

I HAVE A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THESE ISSUES…..OF COURSE

First and foremost I have a different take on the issue of intervening in Syria, and second…..I think anybody who has read any of my blogs regarding when to exit Afghanistan and the Middle East knows exactly where I stand.

 

The USA TODAY article did a pretty good job of explaining the war in Afghanistan, listed the costs, the deaths, the number of troops, and the general attitude of the American people towards the war. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the article expressed the opinion that American’s were tired of the conflict, the mess, the deaths and the cost. However the feeling of fatigue that Americans felt regarding the war wasn’t near strong enough to take to the streets in protest. It’s funny, but that’s what an all volunteer military will do to a population.

 

I used to run an amateur men’s baseball team in Michigan, and few people understood the cost of the operations, every time an event was staged…..it cost me money. And without much of a sponsor, the cost became such that it was unbearable. Running a war is exactly the same as running a baseball team, the cost become insurmountable, so much so that walking away is the best part of valor.

 

Wars are to be avoided at all costs, they are messy…..always, without exception lives are lost on both sides, there are civilian casualties, refugees, homelessness, wounded, injured, and pestilence…..and these are the good qualities of war on civilians. Of course the bad part of war for civilians is rape, family separation, and the complete loss of a culture.

 

With very little exception you won’t get a positive comment on the virtues of staging or instigating military activity on another by veterans. Diplomatic reaction is always the way to go…..at least by these fellows. Entering into a fist fight with Syria is not only stupid…..it’s uncalled for. The United States has little to gain; certainly our safety is not an issue…..no matter what some might say.

 

Oh sure some in the foreign sector, like Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Syria plead for U.S. involvement…..after all, what do they have to lose, they’ve already gotten their butt kicked and are picking up the pieces of their broken lives. To me it makes perfect sense for them to implore Americans for intervention.

 

Some very wise person uttered the following which carries with it the epitome of America’s foreign policy, it reads as follows; “What the United States has in military power, it lacks in wisdom, self-restraint and morality.”

 

There has been no answer to explain how the use of limited military activity can force the Assad regime to capitulate their position, their attitude, or the atmosphere that the country is in. And like I said, intervention into Syria does nothing to our security here in the United States.

 

What to do…..use what I call the 30 day super special plan, remove everybody and everything from Afghanistan, Iraq, and any other Middle Eastern country that we’re in within 30 days. I mean lock-stock-and barrel. If it ain’t nailed, or bolted down get it the hell on a transport with an American destination.

 

Stop every bit of foreign aid…..people don’t appreciate it anyways, our aid is abused every which way…..there’s documented proof. Will this act ruffle feathers…..I sure as hell hope so…..the action is called isolationism, and I love the word, say it with me, is-o-la-tion-ism, it just rolls around your mouth and comes out sounding so nice.

 

WHY CAN’T WE LEARN FROM OUR WAR HISTORY

Did you ever think about the above question…..well I have, and sadly the answer is most usually the same, we’re too damn dumb. That has to be the answer, I can’t think of a different reason, Korea Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and Iraq, all on foreign soil, all miserable, and costly, and all failures. Yeah that’s right…..all failures. You can’t count Desert Storm a victory cause we went back in the 2003.

 

Here again I have a different view that the average person on the street…..maybe it’s the reason I write a blog…..guess I need a platform to speak from. But what I have to say regarding the question of war, and why we seem to need it is important.

 

We guys can’t seem to put down our toy pistols, stop playing games and get on with our lives as responsible citizens of the world. Everybody isn’t the same; everybody doesn’t pay tribute to the same Gods.

 

As a nation we haven’t learned this lesson, many people in the world community do not want our nosy nelly ways, most peoples of the world understand that the United States is protecting its own selfish interests. We do not…..I repeat do not spread democracy, or do we protect human rights, unless it’s in our own interests.

 

We need a time-out from world affairs; we aren’t doing a very good job anyways, which makes me think that the world could survive pretty damn good without our help.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!