Kondor3
Cafeteria Centrist
Oh, I dunno... Saddam is dead... Qaddhafi is dead... both formerly problematic regimes are gone... and both nations no longer possess a serious offensive military capability.
I was dead-set against going into Iraq because (1) the casus belli was bullshit and (2) it would take our eye off the ball in Afghanistan in our pursuit of al-Qaeda and OBL..
But, in retrospect, and even though it was not worth the blood and treasure and goodwill and cost to our own interim unity...
There were a few worthwhile things that came out of that dumbass initiative, and what I've described above (Saddam gone, regime change, military smashed) were a few of them... turns out the glass is 1/8 full, after all.
In the case of a medieval, radical, militant, martyrdom-sanctioning Islamic Fundie regime, and the long-term threat that it poses to The West, and de-clawing that regime's nuclear capability before it can even finish the job of growing those claws...
Well... the glass would probably end-up being 1/2 full, rather than 1/8 full...
Long-term, there is more at-stake over a nuclear-armed Islamic Theocracy than there was over the pissant secularists in Iraq or Libya... the Iranian regime stands a much better chance of becoming a focal-point or center for Jihad over time... best to stamp-out that possibility before it even arises... peacefully, if possible, but forcibly, if need be - else leave our children and grandchildren and beyond, cursing us for our spinelessness...
Not really. It's a juvenile idea, served-up by a very naive mind.
I am, by nature, quite average in my tone and demeanor, rather than being a loudmouth.
But I can, indeed, be an asshole, in dealing with surrender-monkeys, when it comes to matters of import to my Country and my People, which have my allegiance and loyalty.
I am sufficiently sentient to understand the difference between a False Casus Belli and a Righteous or Sensible Casus Belli, and sufficiently objective to understand that I don't have all the answers, and sufficiently committed to consensus and humanism so as to want to explore all angles and to engage in open and critical discussion before committing to war.
I have done my time, in uniform, in the service of my country and people, years ago. I seriously doubt that you can say the same, or that you would last long amongst such brave company, with such delicate sensibilities openly manifested.
But, if we do, by some odd and unlikely chance, actually end-up pouncing on Iran, and if, by an even more unlikely chance, the government forms an Old Farts Brigade and calls me back to Active Duty again - even if it's just to drive trucks and keep our boys and girls supplied - I'll kiss the wife and family goodbye, and report for duty, and take my chances dodging snipers and roadside IEDs, and know that I'm helping to eliminate a genuine threat - a threat that - in the long run - is potentially far more profound and dangerous than any other we've dealt with in recent times.
You, on the other hand, once called, may prove a little more difficult to place within the military. There are not many jobs in the Armed Forces for Surrender-Monkeys, but I'm sure they can find something suitable to your potential as a Fighting Man - a purchasing-agent for buying party-favors for use by the USO, perhaps...
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Now that we've gotten the thinly-veiled (and not-so-thinly-veiled) insults out of the way...
Look... there's nothing wrong with clear-headed and honest and critical thinking and dialogue pertaining to the prospects for going to war, under almost any circumstances, except the more dire of emergencies requiring the utmost speed.
God knows, there's been precious little of such dialogue, conducted in an effective manner, in recent decades... and had there been more, in the run-up to Iraq, we might never have undertaken that Abortion in the first place.
War is a messy, bloody, despicable and gawdawful business, and there are folks haunting these boards who know that far better than I...
It should never, ever be undertaken lightly or for highly questionable reasons, and it should conform to the Will of the People, whenever practicable (and it should almost always BE practicable)...
But a nuclear-armed, medieval-thinking, martyrdom-sanctioning, militant Fundamental Islamic Theocracy is a thing to be avoided at nearly any cost, else unnecessarily risk all, in the long-run...
Best to step-on and crush the head of such a viper before it grows too large to deal with...
Drawing faux analogies between such a Theocratic Regime and the pissant secular regimes that came up on our scope before it does no good service to the United States nor The West in general...
We cannot hide our heads in the sand like ostriches and ignore this one...
Our arrogance and stupidity in going to war in Iraq make it more difficult to do the same in connection with another country, hard on the heels of the mistake, but that does not mean that we should not coldly and dispassionately consider doing the same thing in connection with that other country, IF we determine that it is necessary and in the best survival interests of the US and The West in THIS case...
Personally, I believe that we need to take a long, hard look at the prospect of going to war with Iran, and throw rocks at the idea to see whether it has any merit, but I also believe that we cannot be afraid to get past our 'Little Boy Who Cried Wolf' experiences of recent years and look at this future prospect with a careful eye on the past, but with the requisite pragmatism to act on such intentions, should we concluded that the casis belli does have merit...
Making blanket statements in favor of leaving that Militant Islamic Fundamentalist Regime intact, and armed with nuclear weapons no less, comes off looking like an attempt to weaken the Willpower of the American People in such matters at a time when that Willpower might be needed again, and it serves no ends but those of the Iranian Regime,
I do not believe that to be 'right', but that's just me.
So... you go right ahead... throw your rocks... think badly of those who serve-up a firmer and more warlike attitude with respect to Iran... it's all part of the healthy give-and-take of opinion by which the American People will come to their own good conclusions and support (or fail to support) whatever actions the government ends-up taking...
Just remember not to start believing in your own crap... that those who take a more hardline stance are all Reactionaries and Assholes and that your way is the only way, and that your rationale and reasons are the only ones that might end-up proving valid.
'Cause it ain't true...
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