The Costs of U.S. Retreat (Al Qaeda revives in Iraq and Syria's contagion spreads to Lebanon.)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Jan. 5, 2014

[MinorityRepublican]

Americans want to forget about Iraq and Syria, especially since President Obama walked back from his bombing threat in September, but Syria and Iraq haven't forgotten America. The contagion from Syria's civil war is spilling across borders in ways that are already requiring U.S. involvement and may eventually cost American lives.

The casualties include the stability of Lebanon, which like Syria is riven by Shiite-Sunni divisions. Thousands of Shiite Hezbollah militia have joined the war on behalf of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, and the opposition is retaliating with a terror campaign inside Lebanon.

[Mpatl]

Imagine that. How can they be so dumb? Or, on the other hand is it all just part of their plan. I comment -you decide.

[henkster]

Amateur hour. But hey, Kerry is doing a great job making gay issues the centerpiece of our foreign policy.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

Our military has been stretched to the breaking point for over ten years and now they are being cheated out of the benefits they were promised and that they had earned. In this case, the costs of retreat are a lot less than staying there bleeding and bankrupting ourselves in a part of the world where we have no real vital national interest.

[what's up]

I’m not sure how you can say that if Iran gets nukes our vital interests are not involved.

[Fee]

WSJ want us in another war. Iraq and Afghanistan is still not enough. Obama made a Eisenhower like decision to keep out of Syria and ME either by accident or design. The US is in deep debt, in fact our DoD recognizes that our debt has become a national security issue. Our generals and admirals understand this, why does the editors in WSJ fail to understand this? The US needs a period of withdraw, and reconstitution so it can re emerge financially sound and well rested. Even then we as a people need to review the lessons learned being a policeman of the world. God gave the US two great ocean barriers, a land in between rich with resources and no major power enemy on our borders. Our founding fathers recognize the wisdom of non entanglement. Tell the neocons that the US is a republic and not some goat for the NWO empire goat fXXk.

[deadrock]

Every penny lost, every ounce of blood shed, was for nothing.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

I’m a lot less worried about Iran getting nukes than I am about Pakistan already having them and therefore nukes being in the possible reach of stateless terrorists. The irrationality of the Iranian regime is greatly overrated. Even Khomeini himself knew when to call it quits in the war against Saddam’s Iraq.

[allendale]

Al Qaeda is a radical fundamentalist Sunni fighting force that is causing mayhem throughout the Mideast. The inconvenient reality is that they are being funded by the Wahhabi who are sanctioned and funded by the Saudis and by Qatar. Unless the funding ceases, the violence will continue.

[what's up]

I’m a lot less worried about Iran getting nukes

You may not be worried about Iran getting nukes. However, whether they do or do not get them is in our vital interests.

Also, it is not in Israel's vital interest. Unless you are calling Netanyahu a liar, it will be perilous for them if Iran gets nukes...and what happens in Israel is our vital interest as well.

[Texas Fossil]

al Qaeda feels empowered by the presence of Obozo.

Just like the street thugs feel empowered by him.

He is a divisive evil btard.

The insanity must stop.

[vpintheak]

Let them kill each other over there. Not our problem and not worth Americans lives. If they attack us, then we turn their world to glass.

[Dapper 26]

Consequences of a eunuch president who only knows how to spend other people’s money on a lavish lifestyle and giving more of that money to his loyal voters.

[Hugin]

...Take up the White Man’s burden—
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain,
To seek another’s profit
And work another’s gain.

Take up the White Man’s burden—
The savage wars of peace—
Fill full the mouth of Famine,
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
(The end for others sought)
Watch sloth and heathen folly
Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man’s burden—
No iron rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper—
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go, make them with your living
And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man’s burden,
And reap his old reward—
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard—
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:—
“Why brought ye us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?”...

-—Rudyard Kipling

[SoFloFreeper]

I believe Bush made significant gains in Iraq and Afghanistan. They weren’t Republics like we envision for the west, but they were moving away from the rule of strongman tribes...children were being educated, learning that the Christian was not their enemy, adults were expressing themselves in the ballot box (who can ever forget the purple fingers) and courts of law were not kangaroo cases.....

Obama has abandoned all that and even worked to reverse those gains. At heart, his ideology is also totalitarian, just like those governments we sought to replace in those nations.

[Valentine Michael Smith]

I agree, except that we got less than nothing. George Bush should be tried and hung.

[bassmaner]

I thought 0bama ‘responsibly ended the war in Iraq’. Apparently Al Qaeda didn’t get the memo.