But this is what we got now!!!
Posted on 12/10/2015 2:29:07 PM PST by Isara
GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Thursday that the Middle East was more secure when key dictators were still in power, and said too many Democrats and Republicans have supported toppling Middle Eastern governments to the benefit of the United States' enemies.
"Was the world, in fact, in the Middle East, a more secure place when Saddam Hussein was in power, when Moammar Gadhafi was in power, and when [Bashar] Assad wasn't fighting for his life in Syria?" asked MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.
"Of course it was," Cruz answered. "That's not even a close call."
Cruz said Gadhafi did bad things but had worked with the United States and "was actively cooperating in hunting down and stopping radical Islamic terrorists." The Texas senator said Gadhafi's ouster has turned Libya into a "chaotic warzone ruled by radical Islamic terrorists."
"We need to focus on killing bad guys," Cruz said. "What has been a mistake, and we've seen a consistent mistake in foreign policy is far too often, we've seen Democrats and a lot of establishment Republicans in Washington get involved in toppling Middle Eastern governments. And it ends up benefiting the bad guys. It ends up handing them over to radical Islamic terrorists."
Cruz ranks first in the Washington Examiner's newest GOP presidential power rankings.
The absolute key is to never go to the middle east again.Let the Russians deal with it and take our troops and put them on our borders. We must restart out nuclear weapon production and respond harshly with any attack on our home land. I want to fight those killers that are here!! not over there. No more Iraqs!! No more Lybias. No more dead soldiers and no more printed money. Shut down this Trojan horse immigration — invasion of our country. Seal the borders and find out what the hell is going on in these ,Mosques!! Make American great again!! We don’t give a damn about the middle east!!
The Iran-Iraq war and the nuclear reactor happened before the Gulf War. And Kuwait, manifestly, could not defend itself. Furthermore, if Kuwait was “never innocent”, what was Saddam Hussein’s Iraq?
I understand the viewpoint that the wars with Iraq were a bad idea, but anyone who believes that they caused our current troubles is forgetting history. The Islamist ideology that spawns terrorism goes beyond (and was before) the Iraqi wars.
Nor is the idea that Saddam Hussein would have held back ISIS very credible. As a threat to himself, he would be ruthless to them, but as a threat to America, he would have approved of them - perhaps even helped them. This is, after all, the man who celebrated 9/11 and funded terrorist attacks on Israel. Perhaps, if he had not been killed, he would have kept ISIS out of Iraq. But you know something? ISIS doesn’t exist just in Iraq.
Joe got trounced on that question.
Our country has been led into the abyss by elites that put the USA further into debt and a DC military industrial complex of profiteers and neocons that have decimated the US military and vets for no advantage. I know some may disagree but both Bush and Obama and Hillary and many others in govt need to be put on trial now for high crimes and corruption, and especially as a start to purge our country of outside influence.
Ah no Ted. Ansar al Islam, Abu Nidal, Abu Abbas. Od Jewish Americans in wheelchairs being thrown off cruise ships by the ISIS and Al Qaeda precursors. I expect more from Cruz than isolationist bs.
Agreed. Trump said this long ago. Cruz is just now coming on board now? In reality many have said the same thing here before it was considered totally acceptable.
He’s right. Those countries were relatively stable then and weren’t at the mercy of lunatics...such as our so-called “leader”.
Carter had something to do with his losing power?
Was only 8 and too busy with Gigantaur. :) I think that was the way it was spelled. And Stretch Armstrong :)
Seriously, what did the moron do to mess things up?
The biggest myth about Saddam Hussein put forth by the left and now joined by the right is that he was a “secularist”. He was a “secularist” who housed Abu Nidal, Abu Abbas, Ansar al Islam and a whole host of jihadists who he funded to go out and kill Israelis and Americans. The rewriting of history here at FR is as bad as it is at Daily Kos.
I expect more from Cruz, Trump not so much but both have their heads up their asses concerning Iraq and Afghanistan. If anything Bush should have expanded the war by making the House of Saud pay a price for breeding the terrorist scum who hit the WTC.
No need for democratizing, just maximum pain and death for those attacking America or giving aid and comfort to those that did the dirty work.
The thing about Libya is; I don’t know what power started trying to topple Gaddafi, French Mirages went in first from the news per airstrikes.
But the BBC writes that UK SAS forces were already conducting operations on the ground: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16573516
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35005828
So, I plead ignorance but from my unlearned view, no, I don’t think we should have toppled Gaddafi and this makes it bad in seeking regime change when a real-troublemaker is around. It is like crying wolf too often.
That said, it has never been made clear to me what our motive for all of that was in Libya but clearly, Libya got messed up.
But this is what we got now!!!
This nation is so deep in debt and going deeper that we can’t as a practical matter afford total war unless the Saudis and Gulf Arabs pay for it like they did the First Gulf War in 1991.
And they aren’t going to pay for the war that is necessary, a war to take them out along with other nations in the region.
Exactly and what did Bush do that was the biggest mistake, try to nation build. Sure our military did a splendid job. They followed the orders of the CIC, go in and conquer the country. Then it went off the rails
Bush sent in his advisers and our money to try and bring these heathens into the 21st century when he should have either kept killing the fighting age men or pulled out and left them at their own volition.
he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said it first no he said
Listen to yourselves.....sound like a bunch of school kids arguing.
The point is, was it good policy and is the ME in turmoil now because of the over throws.
see post 47
Boy The Donalds numbers are slipping pretty fast
No it wasn’t Cruz !
Nobody should live under a dictatorship.
I agree with what is mostly said but the truth to remember is that much of Saddam’s old guard, his government overthrown went on to become ISIS.
In fact, this seems to be reported again just today:
“Saddam-era officers have been a powerful factor in the rise of Islamic State, in particular in the Sunni militant group’s victories in Iraq last year. Islamic State then out-muscled the Sunni-dominated Baath Party and absorbed thousands of its followers. The new recruits joined Saddam-era officers who already held key posts in Islamic State.”
Read more at Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-islamicstate-spec-idUSKBN0TU0YO20151211#HeIcQSvjzwtVKEz5.99
Whether I agree with the intervention, invasion of Iraq or not; if one does a job, do it right and we should have stayed there in force, if it meant staying there for decades as we have in Korea.
The Bush Admin.even considered expanding the war back then into Syria, this is historic record because Syria allowed Terrorist Camps and Terrorists to plan and carry out attacks from Syria.
If we don’t fight them there, they will fight us here - LIKE NOW. If we don’t change their thinking, they will continue to spawn these groups like ISIS and we will have to continue dealing with them in the future.
THOSE ARE THE FACTS JACK.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.