War

Preemptive war is a policy of fear, not strength. "We're fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them here." This is lunatic and childish thinking. They are already here, as evidenced by American Somalis going back to Africa to fight with extremists, as evidenced by the several recent bombing plots uncovered by the FBI, as evidenced by the rapid development of mosques being built in the U.S. to accommodate Muslim immigrants.

The poverty and ignorance that has led to jihad throughout the Muslim world is the fault of the same regimes we have supported politically. Now we pressurize a victimized and deprived civilian population by killing them with our military might in their homelands, while still supporting their oppressive and corrupt leadership.

If we withdrew our armies, the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan would have to make their own choices and allegiances. Frankly, they would be too busy sorting themselves out to worry about attacking the U.S.. That is simple common sense. Viet Nam was a prime example of this.

The current government war policy in Iraq and Afghanistan has its roots in the same evil which brought us the catastrophic lessons of Viet Nam. That evil is the attempt and success of the military-industrial complex to run U.S. foreign policy, against the founding precepts of the U.S., as designed by leaders like George Washington, who insisted that the military be subject to civilian rule.

I am sorry to see the Obama administration bow to the military-industrial complex in Afghanistan. It speaks of a weakness in that administration. It speaks of an abandonment of the politics of peace and reconciliation by that administration. My only hope comes with an understanding that a new anti-war movement will rise from these events, as the American people feel the cost in lives and in their wallets for many years to come.