There's nothing new here. I'm fairly certain FDR's goal was to reduce Hitler and the Nazis down to a manageable problem...WH Press Secretary Tweet
- Bad guys love nothing more than a vacuum. We're currently watching that being played out in Iraq. As soon as we pulled out all of our forces, the homicidal maniacs moved in to set up their killing fields. The same scenario occurred in South East Asia after we pulled out of Vietnam. The Communist moved in---as is their MO--- and they murdered several million in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
- Iraq is not the only place we're observing the same phenomena. Just a few days ago, our own embassy in Tripoli was attacked by terrorists (American embassies are considered American territory). In fact, the Jihadist were so thrilled with their taking over the embassy, they made videos of themselves frolicking in the embassy swimming pool. To put it in other terms: they were flipping us the bird as they did their belly-flops into the pool.
- The same can also be said with what is occurring in the Ukraine today. As British PM David Cameron said earlier this week: "We run the risk of repeating the mistakes made in Munich in 1938. We cannot know what will happen next." Cameron was referring to Neville Chamberlain's sellout to Hitler. (Officials meeting in NATO this week will consider a rapid-reaction force to protect Eastern Europe even though the Ukraine is not part of NATO). It's worth noting, after Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, it didn't take long for France to come under Nazi boots, less than a year later.
- Fortunately Israel appears to be the only nation willing to stand up to the Islamic hoards. Even after Hamas sent over 4000 rockets into Israel, the Israelis never backed down. They never do. They don't appease terrorists.
- Having said all of this, I don't believe ground troops are the answer either. We sent ground troops into Vietnam. The last images were of American choppers vacating the American embassy after 10 years of war. Of course, it wasn't because we lost the war. We quit Vietnam. The Democrats withdrew funding that would have helped South Vietnam turn back the North Vietnam Communists.
- With this current challenge facing us, ground troops---in my opinion---are also not the answer. Yes, ISIS beheading two more Americans is an affront to everything we stand for. But they weren't the first Americans to be beheaded by those barbarians. Danny Pearl and Nick Berg suffered the same fate over 10 years ago. And in between those two horrific events, we lost thousands of our troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Keep in mind, ISIS is not the only group of homicidal maniacs out there. Boko Haram and al-Qaeda---along with their affiliates---will continue to roam the Middle East and other regions of the globe like roaches in a New York City tenement. As soon as you kill some over here, more appear over there.
- So what are we to do? We know all of these Jihadist groups are a threat to America. We saw that evidence almost 13 years ago to the day. We've also experienced other events in the last 13 years including the Boston Marathon bombing. But one thing is certain. You cannot "manage" lunatics whose sole intent is to kill as many Americans as they can. It's also harder to manage a vacuum. History is replete with examples.
- Perhaps I should reference someone who knows about these issues better than I do. John Podhortez wrote this week: "The president decided America was through with the war in the Middle East. The vacuum his fecklessness has created is sucking us back in---and in a far worse tactical and strategic condition than we were before."
- Where is George Patton when you need him?
