there i go again- getting myself into a fix i have to get myself out of. now- i have to solve western war. i guess the reason i posted the last post is i just don't know what to do about the current situation america is getting itself into. there is the comment that floats around the blogosphere- "hey if you think you can do better- come up with a plan." so- i decided to give it a think and see if i could come up with something. it has been so hot- i am mentally and physically spent- but i am going to have a go.
i think that i should preface with saying that i don't see good things on the horizon for america. i don't see good things for the middle east either. i think i may pour all of my big thoughts into one magnum opus and walk away from blogging forever- and i may have to or face a government inquiry :) but---this is not that post :)
hmmmm- where would i start? the knee jerk reaction would be the middle east. i think that we need to start in america. if i had a magic wand, i would remove the war hawks who are pushing for more war with diplomats to do some major reconstruction diplomacy. rebuild coalition forces in afghanistan and re-establish the elected government's autonomy. we need to pick a side in iraq and assist the elected government's autonomy and stabilize the country. with our re-established diplomacy- ask for coalition forces to help maintain stability in the region. we need to let israel do whatever it is doing- unless the country is doing our bidding- and then we would need to tell it to stop. once the region is stabilized- pull the hell out.
of course, the hawks in this country are lusting for blood. no way they would agree with this. some folks have said that we are the world's policeman. true- but why? we don't have to be- why do we do it? if we didn't do it- who would? why would it matter? we do it because we are arrogant and we believe that everyone on this planet is subservient to us because we can bomb the shit out of them. yes, every country on this planet has had hundreds if not thousands of years of war. i think that there is a 'john wayne' nostalgia among some folks in this country. war is not a proving ground and war is not glory. war is death and no good things come out of it. i am not getting into the 'necessary war' debate. there is no debate. sometimes you have to protect yourself- as in world war 2. this is not it.
as for fighting terrorism- we should have started at home. i was all for going to afghanistan to root out the responsible folks. we almost had him at tora bora but rumsfeld pulled back. that is for a different post. we needed to finish in afghanistan and leave- to focus on truly making the homeland safe- which we have not done. we are as wide open as we have ever been- except the current government has spied on citizens. i would focus on safeguarding our ports, energy plants, food supplies, water supplies, transportation. i would also fund it. bring the national guard home to help guard the homeland. that is what they are trained to do and what we need them to do. stop starting wars we don't have enough regular forces to fight.
i realize this is simplistic but why does it have to be complicated?
3 comments:
Yep betmo, it's a tough one.
Everyone thinks its ok to defend themselves - Everyone???
Then both sides are justified in the killing, maiming, suffering.
The only end to conflict is social justice, 'fairness' end of oppression. But some people thrive on conflict. Some people thrive on pain & suffering. Some people thrive on killing, as long as it is them doing the killing ...
and not them being the one's being killed.
If it is ok for you to kill, then it must be equally ok for you to be killed.
To quote a quote:
"The buck stops here ...!
I think you've some great and overdue ideas there. I don't think there will be any stabilization in the Middle East though. The only thing the US CAN do besides shedding more blood, is to give up on our goals there. Forget the oil. Suffer without it, sure.
We're adaptable and will find other solutions, even though it'll take another Great Depression to do so.
As little as I like that idea (which I think is inevitable w/o ME oil) I prefer it and the hardships it will entail to the non-stop escalation of violence and acrimony which our presence and desire for those geological resources entail.
$6 or $8 for a gallon of gas? Whatever folks. Talk about being forced to get your priorities straight! I've no doubt that'd do it.
(And the only reason I think the above is the most likely outcome of the US leavin' the ME, is because of egomaniacal Cultural reasons; not empirical Economic necessities.)
Right on, Quasar as well.
Hey betmo, I am back. I was on vacation. I have a lot of reading to do to catch up on your posts, but the ones I have seen so far look good like they always do. I meant to drop you a comment before I left to let you know I would be away, but I just ran out of time. I thought about doing a blog post to tell everyone, but I thought that might not be the best idea since the whole net could read it, and I did not want Georgie to order me up a body cavity search upon my return. Enough about me already...
You have some great ideas. I agree with you that it is difficult to fix other people's houses when ours is in such disorder. A change of the guard in Congress might help IF my fellow Democrats remember why they lost Congress to begin with and swear not to let the power corrupt them like the GOP has allowed to happen. Sigh, I know, wishful thinking.
Regarding the Middle East, I am going to do a post on my idea for the Israel-Hezbollah conflict hopefully later today. Thanks for keeping your blog going. It is always a pleasure to read.
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