Mr. President:
More troops? I'm sorry, more "advisers" into Iraq? -- advisers who they would not dare shoot at, of course. More bases set up in Iraq? -- guaranteed to
win us everlasting gratitude, I'm sure.
Arms to Sunni militia -- yet another private, sectarian army not under central
command and control of Iraq's government -- which will happily cooperate with
Shiite militia, each of whom will politely refrain from cutting each others'
throats? -- of course. More Special Ops incursions
into Syria -- which will overawe and subdue apocalyptic terrorists despite
their culture of revenge -- I'm sure.
What the hell are we thinking? Why?!
What does victory over ISIS look
like? How will we know it when (and if)
we achieve it? And the Sunni tribes that
have opted for horrific ISIS over hateful Shiites, who will they opt for
next?
The only rationales offered for us
re-entering Iraq are that ISIS is truly Satanic, deserving to be killed, and that
they will stir up even more trouble in the region if they succeed in carving
out a Sunni kleptocracy. Really? More trouble than has been brewing off and on
since 1920? Since 1750? Since 1000? More Satanic than the Saudis who
have beheaded 88 people so far this year?
Is defeat of ISIS going to mollify
the Ayatollahs, the Kings, the Generals, the Sheiks, the Emirs -- and get them all
to behave as we wish them to?
What is it we want to achieve? To buoy up a Shiite regime in Iraq that hates
Saudis and the Emirates, that Iran controls, that supports Assad, and that
spits on their own Sunni and Kurdish citizens?
Somebody tell me exactly what we
buy by putting more American lives at risk, by putting American arms into the
hands of Baathist Sunni militia. What do
we gain by adding fuel to the fires of civil wars in Iraq and Syria, wars that if
fueled by outsiders will likely merge into a great sectarian war engulfing the
entire Gulf?
Advisers: the military likes to
take ground and count kills. When
advisers moved into the field with their Iraqi units in Anbar, ground was taken, kills
went up. Ergo, get more into the
field. Pretty soon, advisers are
coaching, then leading, then getting shot and calling for more
"advisers." I recall, it was
1963 or '64, when I wept looking at pictures in Life of the first adviser
deaths in Viet Nam, two GIs airlifted out of their advisee ARVN unit who died
in the copter enroute to a MASH. Go back
and read Frances Fitzgerald's Fire in
the Lake about Kennedy's well intentioned "advisers" and what that
led to.
Today, we've been
de-sensitized by 12 years of seeing GI's dying in deserts; we have no more
tears to shed -- unless it's our own kin sacrificed there, and of course, with
no national service, few of us have that skin in the game. But we all do have a stake in calling a halt.
For God's sake, for our sake,
just say NO! No more dollars and
blood. No more blundering in to take
sides in ancient feuds which we do not, cannot understand. No!
Leave the bloody Near East to blood-thirsty, self-destructive near
easterners. Step back and let them play
out their history until, exhausted, the survivors decide on their own to
co-exist. That's what Christians had to
do between 1600 and 1648, yes, at frightful cost. And that's what the Muslims will have to do
-- on their own, and yes, no doubt at frightful cost. Our role is to stand aside, not to take sides;
to avoid stirring up more hatreds and resentments; and when possible, to provide
succor and support to refugees and survivors.
But now, just say NO. No mas; no
mas.
If you agree at all with this plea, please pass it on. Let a deluge of No!'s begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment