Wars to Nowhere

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction just released a 172-page report to President Obama and Congress. His conclusion: "Iraq remains an extraordinarily dangerous place … It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago."

It’s the same story in Afghanistan. Assassinations, bombings, shootings, rocket launchings, and other violence are rampant. June was the worst month in two years for U.S. forces in Iraq; 15 soldiers were killed. As the year-end withdrawal deadline nears the mayhem escalates. Most of the problem is Shiite Muslim militias who simply can’t wait for Americans to leave.

Don’t forget the Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Muslims out in the Iraqi provinces. They’re shooting and bombing each other with abandon too. There is no such thing as stability anywhere in Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s a safe bet that all hell will break loose if the Americans do leave as promised. Staying would only postpone the inevitable chaos.

That’s when the all out civil wars will begin. The puppet governments we installed will fold like paper napkins. And that’s when any hope of achieving anything from our involvement will instantly vaporize.

Trillions of dollars will have been squandered thanks to former president George W. Bush. Had he not involved the U.S. in these quagmire wars, a Republican would probably have been elected president in 2008, Obama would still be the Jr. Senator from Illinois, the economy would not have tanked, and the current financial crisis would have most likely been avoided.

The biggest lie in the politician’s trick box is that these wars to nowhere are necessary for the nation’s defense. They aren’t. Neither Afghanistan nor Iraq posed any credible threat to the United States before we invaded and occupied those nations. We simply stirred up a hornets nest in the Middle East.

Iraq was actually better off under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in terms of safety, security, and stability. Iraq was far more a threat to its neighbor Iran than to any other country. Iran is stronger now that the U.S. conveniently removed Saddam.

The Taliban are still running things in Afghanistan, ready to take over completely once again when the U.S. withdraws. Our involvement was all for nothing. We had several other options for dealing with the Al Qaeda terrorists; far less dangerous and expensive options. The Taliban might even have delivered Al Qaeda to us on a silver platter had President Bush done things differently.   

Not that it matters much now, but a good argument can be made that there were only two wars which were necessary to actually defend our country – the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Our country was invaded by enemy forces then. Not so in the case of all the other conflicts and wars. Pearl Harbor was not an invasion. The Japanese had no intent to occupy Hawaii. They just wanted to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet so they could carry on their conquest of Asia.  

There was no threat to the United States population in 1914. No one wanted war with us. Had America not joined the fray in World War I, Germany would probably have prevailed, and Hitler would not have come to power to start WWII. The Nazi’s would not have been. The communists might not have touched off the Russian Revolution and Stalin would not have arisen. No World War II; no protracted cold war with Russia; no nuclear arms race, if only America had stayed out of WWI.

Had the Japanese, without American interference, succeeded in their conquest of Asia, the Chinese communists would not have materialized to plague China far worse than the Japanese would; no communists in China, Korea, or Vietnam; no Korean or Vietnam Wars.

By now, all of Asia might be just as prosperous and free as the Japanese. Either that or the empire might just as well have crumbled of its own weight as has every other empire before it. So, no war with Japan if only America had remained neutral.   

There is not a single war or conflict since 1814 which was necessary to defend the United States of America from a foreign enemy invasion with intent to occupy. The Civil War was not about defense, at least not on the Union side where it was all offense.

It too was just another war to nowhere.