Posted on 08/09/2016 9:27:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
"Isolationists must not prevail in this new debate over foreign policy," warns Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "The consequences of a lasting American retreat from the world would be dire."
To make his case against the "Isolationist Temptation," Haass creates a caricature, a cartoon, of America First patriots, then thunders that we cannot become "a giant gated community."
Understandably, Haass is upset. For the CFR has lost the country.
Why? It colluded in the blunders that have bled and near bankrupted America and that cost this country its unrivaled global preeminence at the end of the Cold War.
No, it was not "isolationists" who failed America. None came near to power. The guilty parties are the CFR crowd and their neocon collaborators, and liberal interventionists who set off to play empire after the Cold War and create a New World Order with themselves as Masters of the Universe.
Consider just a few of the decisions taken in those years that most Americans wish we could take back.
After the Soviet Union withdrew the Red Army from Europe and split into 15 nations, and Russia held out its hand to us, we slapped it away and rolled NATO right up onto her front porch.
Enraged Russians turned to a man who would restore respect for their country. Did we think they would just sit there and take it?
How did bringing Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into NATO make America stronger, safer and more secure? For it has surely moved us closer to a military clash with a nuclear power.
In 2014, with John McCain and U.S. diplomats cheering them on, mobs in Independence Square overthrew a pro-Russian government in Kiev that had been democratically elected and installed a pro-NATO regime.
Putin's response: Secure Russia's naval base at Sevastopol by retaking Crimea, and support pro-Russian Ukrainians in Luhansk and Donetsk who preferred secession to submission to U.S. puppets.
Fortunately, our interventionists failed to bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. Had they succeeded, we almost surely would have been in a shooting war with Russia by now.
Would that have made us stronger, safer, more secure?
After the attack on 9/11, George W. Bush, with the nation and world behind him, took us into Afghanistan to eradicate the nest of al-Qaida killers.
After having annihilated some and scattered the rest, however, Bush decided to stick around and convert this wild land of Pashtuns, Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks into another Iowa.
Fifteen years later, we are still there.
And the day we leave, the Taliban will return, undo all we have done, and butcher those who cooperated with the Americans.
If we had to do it over, would we have sent a U.S. army and civilian corps to make Afghanistan look more like us?
Bush then invaded Iraq, overthrew Saddam, purged the Baath Party, and disbanded the Iraqi army. Result: A ruined, sundered nation with a pro-Iranian regime in Baghdad, ISIS occupying Mosul, Kurds seceding, and endless U.S. involvement in this second-longest of American wars.
Most Americans now believe Iraq was a bloody trillion-dollar mistake, the consequences of which will be with us for decades.
With a rebel uprising against Syria's Bashar al-Assad, the U.S. aided the rebels. Now, 400,000 Syrians are dead, half the country is uprooted, millions are in exile, and the Damascus regime, backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, is holding on after five years.
Meanwhile, we cannot even decide whether we want Assad to survive or fall, since we do not know who rises when he falls.
Anyone still think it was a good idea to plunge into Syria in support of the rebels? Anyone still think it was a good idea to back Saudi Arabia in its war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has decimated that country and threatens the survival of millions?
Anyone still think it was a good idea to attack Libya and take down Moammar Gadhafi, now that ISIS and other Islamists and rival regimes are fighting over the carcass of that tormented land?
"The Middle East is arguably the most salient example of what happens when the U.S. pulls back," writes Haass.
To the CFR, the problem is not that we plunged headlong into this maelstrom of tyranny, tribalism and terrorism, but that we have tried to extricate ourselves.
Hints that America might leave the Middle East, says Haass, have "contributed greatly to instability in the region."
So, must we stay indefinitely?
To the CFR, America's role in the world is to corral Russia, defend Europe, contain China, isolate Iran, deter North Korea, and battle al-Qaida and ISIS wherever they may be, bleeding our country's military.
Nor is that all. We are also to convert Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Afghanistan into pro-Western preferably democratic countries, and embrace "free trade," accepting the imported merchandise of all mankind, even if that means endless $800 billion trade deficits, bleeding our country's economy.
Otherwise, you are just an isolationist.
So-called “neocons” = left-wingers that pander to conservatives. All the same. The only “reality” that they were “mugged” by was the realization that in order to fool conservatives into supporting them, they must engage in said pandering.
AND how much money did they receive?
Dhimmi-crats are good at starting wars; but abysmal at
finishing them. They just stir the pot until they get a
stink going; then vamoose and leave the mess for someone
else to clean up. - Well, Roosevelt, for an old, sick man
in a wheelchair, along with Churchill and others did
persevere. Harry Truman did pretty decent for a shopkeeper.
Then, from then on, Dhimmi-crats just rode Roosevelt’s
coattails until now, the coattails are threadbare and the
legends, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Truman, descended into the
pit known as “CLINTON”.
.....two Hilda supporters offering up the backsides like baboons in a ritual.....
Unless I read it wrong (the whole article) he is putting out a strong suggestion that the USA should have allowed Hitler to do what he wanted.
Sherman said, War is Hell and it can not be refined. The more hellish it is made the faster it is over.
Funny thing about those civil war Generals. The Germans still study the tactics they used. Especially the later part of the war.
It’s not the wars that have bled and bankrupted America though they have helped. It’s the trade policies. Trump understands that and will fix it.
The wars, were necessary. Afghanistan protected the perps. Saddam was the only state leader who openly applauded 9/11, and was openly funding suicide terrorists against Israel. Both needed to go.
But the nation building afterwards, needed to be done mostly on their dime, and needed to change their culture.
Our weak minded attempts to impose democracy on their culture has lead to years of wars, ISIS, subrogation of women’s rights, a lack of religious rights, betrayal, debts and failure.
It’s not the wars that have bled and bankrupted America though they have helped. It’s the trade policies. Trump understands that and will fix it.
The wars, were necessary. Afghanistan protected the perps. Saddam was the only state leader who openly applauded 9/11, and was openly funding suicide terrorists against Israel. Both needed to go.
But the nation building afterwards, needed to be done mostly on their dime, and needed to change their culture.
Our weak minded attempts to impose democracy on their culture has lead to years of wars, ISIS, subrogation of women’s rights, a lack of religious rights, betrayal, debts and failure.
....Who Got Us Into These Endless Wars?....
BOTH clintons, AlGore, Bush, obama, Samantha World Power, Victoria Nuland Noodlehead, Kerry, and assorted CongressCritters from both parties who stand up and salute whenever the war drums sound!!!!
Well gee it was the nation that tried to take him out years before, why wouldn’t he have applauded?
If we were going to go after Saddam in 1991, then we should have finished the job. Why leave somebody in power who would then be able to plot their revenge? Oooooh, because the Saudis wouldn’t let us!?!?!?!
F THE SAUDIS!
I doubt you read it wrong.
Like Germany in 1941, Iran has declared war on the USA, but a long time ago, and most recently repeated it back in January of this year. Do we really have to let every such declaration go unanswered?
What you said is factual and no one can deny it.
“We aren’t doing that, though. The rest of the world comes looking for a fight and we respond too little too late, actually. “
Libya didn’t attack NATO. In fact, it was cooperating with us under Bush and gave up its chem weapons. Ukraine didn’t ask for the NWO to launch and fund a coup. Egypt didn’t come looking for a fight when we launched that Moslem Brotherhood coup. Serbia didn’t come looking for a fight, we decided the jihadis needed a new nation called Kosovo.
Afghanistan did, although realistically any sane telling of the story is that 9/11 was a Saudi attack.
Face facts, we are usually the aggressor nation now.
The uniparty and Bush and now, Obama is purposely draining the $ and disheartening our military on purpose.
One does not have to be isolationist, but we can be, “non-nation-building”. Does Israel engage in endless wars? No, the take their enemies out, however with a single purpose.
If 0bama is ever gone, replacing his anti-US military leaders will be a first job; hope Trump hires back some of those let go.
NATO is under the EU’s control. Has been since the 1990s.
And none of that invalidates my point with respect to the USA.
Actually the CIA had nothing to do with the installation of Shah Reza Pahlavi. He followed his father Reza Shah Pahlavi to the thron
Neocons are simply leftists, descendants of true communists in the 30s. They are very pro war and see reasons for launching it everywhere. This makes many regular Americans confuse them for “conservatives”. After all, a true conservative likes our military and is uncomfortable in an antiwar position.
So throwing in with world changing neocons feels normal. But in truth, neocons are exactly the same as the old USSR endlessly launching wars of liberation all around the globe. 30 years of this Bush/Clinton/Obama neocon crap has got to come to a close.
They are a global menace and are truly making America a hated entity worldwide.
My mistake. They put his father in power.
“Afghanistan protected the perps. Saddam was the only state leader who openly applauded 9/11”
How about the nation that funded and supplied all but one of the perps? Saudi Arabia. And applause?? No thanks. That was an idiotic war. It cost us a freaking fortune. It was fought with absolute stupidity by out political leaders and flag officers.
This has gone on for nearly 15 years and the end isn’t in sight. We will still have a presence there in 10 years.
We took out Hitler and the Japs in 3 years and 8 months. He stood on both of their throats for 5+ more years and ruthlessly eradicated their sick philosophy.
We cant crush Iraq in 15 years. Afghanistan will either have a 12 billion a year infusion and our presence forever, or they will collapse the day after we leave.
Most embarrassing of all. Raqqa is the ISIS capitol city. This war has been going on two years and there it is, a safe zone. We squeal in anger when Russia bombs there. Raqqa should be surrounded by an absolute no escape ring of heavy forces. Advance through and make mass arrests and have giant holding pens like we did for the krauts at the end of WWII.
Take the time to identify and hang every single war criminal of which there will be thousands.
Apologize to Syria for unleashing ISIS, then leave.
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