Obama wants to "do something" about the Islamists attacks in Iraq.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner is haranguing Obama for not doing enough.
Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Obama is doing enough.
I say, Mr. President, do what you do best: Go on vacation where you can do less harm to America.
Iraq is NOT America's problem and most assuredly NOT a place to "insert" U.S. troops.
I realize that Obama did NOT get the U.S. involved in Iraq or Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers died there - and continue to die there - in actions initiated by Republican presidents.
I also realize that Obama is making noises to get most U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and he has kept U.S. troops out of Syria. As much as I dislike the man, credit where it is due.
But if Obama even suggests U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq it will prove he failed to learn from the past.
Boehner should be retired for pressing Obama to "do more" in Iraq. Will he never learn that all warfare in Muslim countries is religious warfare? Doesn't he get it? Is he blind to reality?
Obama does enough dumb things without Boehner's help.
For once - and probably for only time - I am in at least partial agreement with Pelosi on one issue: Iraq.
If we are attacked by a "non-state entity" (e.g., Al Qaeda and similar NOTE 1 organizations), the U.S. should reserve the right to seek out the terrorists no matter where they hide, with or without host nation approval or cooperation. Where possible, use drones and other weapons that keep American troops out of harms way. If there is "collateral damage" because the country hosting the terrorists won't turn them over, so be it. The terrorists declared war on the U.S. and "collateral damage" is the unfortunate price of war.
Politically I am a social liberal and fiscal conservative. My social concerns, however, are for U.S. citizens and others legally in the country. I have no sympathy for "undocumented residents" - a/k/a illegal aliens - no matter from where them came. I am against "fast tracking" illegals, putting them ahead of people who believe in the "rule of law."
I also believe in the Monroe Doctrine which stated, basically, that the U.S. would not get involved in foreign escapades outside our region - North, Central, and South America.
I have little problem with offering off-shore guidance, but I'm old enough to have seen how in-country advisory groups grew into army-size combat and support units in Korea and Vietnam - the last of the (semi-)conventional wars we should have avoided.
My personal bottom line is that the U.S. has NO business in any religious war - no matter where the war is fought.
If you don't believe Iraq's war is a religious war, read what Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, referring to fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that are pushing toward Baghdad, allegedly said on Iranian tv the other day: “This is an extremist, terrorist group that is acting savagely,” Rouhani said live on state television, adding that Tehran will not “tolerate this violence and terror.”
Note 1: For a list of terrorist groups, most of which are Islamic, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations
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