Posted on 03/18/2014 2:11:35 PM PDT by Mozilla
Putin seizes Crimea, so we blockade the Bosporus. Iran defies the UN, so we sink its Persian Gulf fleet. China expands its air defense zone, so we start downing Chinese fighters. North Korea fires some missiles, so we send a CIA assassin with Dennis Rodman's entourage on the next basketball trip.
Why has any of this become unthinkable? We're the world's lone superpower--since when did we become such complete wimps?
We're afraid of escalation. We worry, for example, that any military response to Russia could lead to "nuclear war," as Secretary of State John Kerry warned last week.
If so, why doesn't that worry Putin when he sends thugs into Ukraine? If so, why did Iran pause its nuclear program in 2003, after we invaded Iraq over Saddam Hussein's weapons programs?
The answer is that weakness, not aggression, invites escalation by our enemies.
We're afraid of being called the global cowboys, the world police. But we are anyway, regardless of what we do.
Putin told the Duma on Tuesday that U.S. foreign policy amounted to "rule by the gun"--after months of craven appeasement by the Obama administration, after the U.S. sent Spam to Ukrainian troops rather than weapons.
As long as we will be hated by tyrants anyway, why not do something truly worthy of fear by our enemies?
We conservatives mock Obama's foreign policy failures. But the truth is that we are also paralyzed by a kind of moral terror. We are afraid to be honest with the American people about the sacrifices that will continue to be necessary to defend our freedom and security. Too few of us have shared those sacrifices, so we stop ourselves from stating the painfully obvious: to avoid war, we have to be willing to risk it.
When will we find that courage?
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Lets be aware of those who want us to rush into war.
Take a look at history re 4 August 1964.
LBJ’s duplicity got us into a land war in SE Asia and split this country apart.
LBJ’s duplicity cost a lot of lives and left thousands of brave soldiers, Marines, Air Force and Sailors mentally harmed for life.
http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2008-02/truth-about-tonkin
On 2 August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox (DD-731) while the destroyer was in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. There is no doubting that fact.
But what happened in the Gulf during the late hours of 4 August—and the consequential actions taken by U.S. officials in Washington—has been seemingly cloaked in confusion and mystery ever since that night.
Over the next three hours, the two ships repeatedly maneuvered at high speeds to evade perceived enemy boat attacks. The destroyers reported automatic-weapons fire; more than 20 torpedo attacks; sightings of torpedo wakes, enemy cockpit lights, and searchlight illumination; and numerous radar and surface contacts. By the time the destroyers broke off their “counterattack,” they had fired 249 5-inch shells, 123 3-inch shells, and four or five depth charges.
Commander Stockdale was again in the action, this time alone. When his wingman’s aircraft developed trouble, Stockdale got permission to launch solo from the Ticonderoga . He arrived overhead at 2135. For more than 90 minutes, he made runs parallel to the ships’ course and at low altitude (below 2,000 feet) looking for the enemy vessels. He reported later, “I had the best seat in the house to watch that event and our destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets—there were no PT boats there . . . there was nothing there but black water and American firepower.”
Captain Herrick also began to have doubts about the attack. As the battle continued, he realized the “attacks” were actually the results of “overeager sonar operators” and poor equipment performance. The Turner Joy had not detected any torpedoes during the entire encounter, and Herrick determined that the Maddox ‘s operators were probably hearing the ship’s propellers reflecting off her rudder during sharp turns. 12 The destroyer’s main gun director was never able to lock onto any targets because, as the operator surmised, the radar was detecting the stormy sea’s wave tops.
By 0127 on 5 August, hours after the “attacks” had occurred, Herrick had queried his crew and reviewed the preceding hours’ events. He sent a flash (highest priority) message to Honolulu, which was received in Washington at 1327 on 4 August, declaring his doubts: “Review of action makes many reported contacts and torpedoes fired appear doubtful. Freak weather effects on radar and overeager sonarmen may have accounted for many reports. No actual visual sightings by MADDOX. Suggest complete evaluation before any further action taken.”
If Ø did anything more than blow smoke, he’d only be making things worse... a LOT worse. Better he keeps golfing and goofing, Valerie does her thing, and we inch towards the end of his tenure.
Go volunteer, sugar.
Lost me right there. We were as recently as four years ago. But nobody fears us, or respects us. And on top of that, we're broke.
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial................
Grab a rifle, Joel.
The article’s point seems to be you fight, I’ll cheer.
We ought to at least send in the “rainbow divisions” , they could back in. followed by the “amazon regiments “
Hopefully when you get back we will have a decent president in the White House and be working toward less than our current 17 trillion in debt.
Oh and Soros will lose his bet on the S&P. By the way foreign policy under our current bozo is a very very bad idea.
Exactly. And less embarrassing too.
Not even 4 years ago.
Our super power status was lost in 2002 when Bush went off the deep end and sacrificed so many of our troops and treasure to give Iraq to Iran.
The financial crisis in 2008 was the nail in the coffin, and Putin saw that coming and was able to take Georgia with little response from W. Putin saw that a US President, who launched wars in 2 nations near his borders was impotent to act against him.
Of course Obama would be a piece of cake for Putin after he ran circles around Bush. No surprise at all
Operation “Get Behind the Fairies.”
Why is it always some polished east coast ivy league purebred with no military service experience who is all enthusiastic about the prospect of involving our nation in a shooting war?
The irony is that there are plenty of times and places to fight, but no resolve to finish that which is started, or to honor commitments.
In either case, the fulfilment of those helps insure that later other potential enemies think twice before messing with us or allies.
Joel, born in 77. Guess he missed all the action along the way while building his huge military knowledge base.
Pollack, a Harvard grad, is a former democrat who ran against Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky in 2010 as a Republican.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Pollak
Joel,
Sorry but no. Our allies are rich enough to defend themselves. We’re exhausted and overextended and the American people are in no mood for further foreign entanglements.
Let’s get our own house in order before we start worrying about other countries.
He claimed that Yasser Arafat faked his blood donation after 9/11. Let's hope he was right.
“He’s African American: born in Johannesburg, South Africa.”
This is true, but according to his picture, he’s not a chocolate African American but a white toast African American. I simply don’t know how we will ever settle this racial reference to pieces of food.
Anyone got a blender?
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