Thunder Appeal,
Thank you for your very considerate response.
Thats really the least I could do for someone whose family fought for the US, and me being in the comfort of the safety of the rights given to me by The United States Constitution.
Especially when my opinion is about a situation that I have no direct knowledge of and do not want to transgress on the good name of any American Soldier.
To answer your point: we need to strike hard, debilitate the oppresive government in place and withdraw. ie. giving Saddam a trial was playing into Muzzie hands in Iraq.
Ok, no trial. But wouldnt just leaving have created a power vacum?
A regional example would be Afghanistan during the soviet era.
The reason for the soviet invasion is a whole new topic though.
But there was an American presence there in a capacity enough to tip the balance in the favor of the Afghanis. Interestingly this was probably the kind of Special Operations that Kennedy may have had in mind in Vietnam.
Once the soviets retreated the American presence left and a power vacum ensued, partly due to the decimation by the soviets.
I had a conversation with someone who is a trained physician and he told me he was doing humanitarian aid in Afghanistan shortly after the soviets retreated. He explained that the Afghanis basically did not want the Americans there anymore, the Americans said no problem packed up and left.
Which makes sense since the thinking may have been that Afghanis are now free from the soviets so let them run things their way.
So power vacum ensues, unruly groups go into neighboring countries (Pakistan) causing turmoil. Pakistan tries to get creative with keeping order from chaos.Creates madrassas, religious nut jobs go back into Afghanistan, aligning themselves with devious characters.
This would fall in line with the conspiracy theory that America funded bin laden, may his name be erased, that a lot of people like to hang their hate America sentiment on.
I dont think the US funded that devious group directly, the players involved may have been in contact, but they were small time players. If anyhing Bl, may his name be erased, is an opportunist much like any other fascist is, he could have used his power to create a better Afghanistan.
Hence my reasoning that invading Iraq in and of itself was not bad, the planning was poor.
My thinking is that this started out as gang fight, that is what these so-called insurgents amounted to.
They surfaced because they saw an opportunity, if American planning was more forceful about creating
order the terrorists would have been quickly squashed.
Like I said earlier, subjugate the population, shut them in their homes, for their own good as well as for ours.
US Forces would have been better able to weed out friend from foe and much quicker.
Warn the population that anyone caught outside after a certain period of time will be arrested or shot and/or killed.
Create night time patrols and follow up on that curfew.
You are right that the West cannot converse with them in the same language no matter how good the interpreter.
They are undisciplined, unruly, chaotic, become progressively violent when their demands arent met,
and mock any opportunity for reconciliation.
America feeling guilty about their shortcomings is what our problem is.
Looking for WMD's was a noble proposition, but thats what the exclusive focus was on.
As far as the world is concerned America will always be seen as the bad guy in the eyes of certain groups,
we have to get over the mother teresa complex.
America has to think about whose eyes are we going to be seen as bad guys?
If I may be so bold.
G-d Bless America.
Amen.
Topic: Cowardice During Vietnam (Read 3352 times)