Posted on 04/11/2017 10:17:14 AM PDT by pgkdan
I used to have a best friend, recently in his eighties. I’m not allowed to talk to him any longer because I voted for Trump. That’s the law from his wife. Anyway, just before I was cut off, I asked this great man if he could summarize all the wisdom of his life in one sentence. He looked at me with a smile and said, “Peace is good.”
With that, a few words about Mr. Trump’s getting us into the war in Syria in a big way:
First of all, the happiest people on the planet right now must be the leaders of Islamic State. Just as they were being squeezed east and west by Syria and Russia on one end and Iraq and the U.S. on the other, we land a haymaker on the Syrians and basically take their air force out of the picture.
Now, obviously, Bashar Assad is very bad guy and deserves punishment. But isn’t there a way to punish him that doesn’t directly benefit the worst terrorists on earth, Islamic State?
Closely related, we have no idea of who the people fighting in Syria are. It’s not like we were sending aid to Winston Churchill’s Britain against Hitler. Some of the people fighting against Assad are Hitler. Some aren’t, but how can Mr. Trump tell from Mar-A-Lago who we are helping and who are maybe even worse than Assad?
Third, yes, it is horrible that civilians were killed in a gas attack by Assad. Just terrible. But how is it different from them being killed by high explosives or bullets? Why is there such a huge difference?
Fourth, when, in the whole history of warfare, was any nation at war stopped by aerial bombing, with the exception of nuclear bombing of Japan? Germany and the UK absorbed immense bombing and it only made them angry enough to keep fighting. Millions of pounds of explosives were dropped on both countries. They weren’t even slowed down for years. Why will a one-day attack be different this time?
Fifth, getting into a war is easy. I saw our involvement in Vietnam begin almost exactly this way more than fifty years ago. We thought a few bombs and the enemy would run away. It doesn’t work that way at all. Getting in is madly easy. Getting out is madness.
Sixth, roughly eighty innocent people were killed in Syria’s sarin attack. Very sad. But roughly that many get killed in gang warfare every month or less in Chicago. I don’t see the Army seizing guns from gang members there. Three times that many are killed every single day in America in abortion mills. I don’t see us using cruise missiles against Planned Parenthood. Syria is a quagmire. I hate to say it, but Mr. Obama had it right for us to stay out. Bombing will only suck us into an endless swamp.
If we want to bomb someone, let’s try North Korea, which poses an existential threat to the USA and the whole world. Maybe that was the hidden message of the bombing of Syria: North Korea, you’re next. But Mr. Trump, if you’re so tough, we don’t need hidden messages. Let’s just go for the one that makes all of the difference: North Korea, where our life is at stake. Syria is a terrifying swamp of trouble. Let’s stay out. My ex-pal was right: “Peace is good.”
Total B.S. Time for you and Ben to say goodnight.
Right. Ben forgot to make any mention of how heartbroken Ivanka was.
Should read:
...and when you get through it all, and you realize that our Country was saved by President Trump coming in when he did, you best get down on your knees and Thank God He intervened on our part and sent that Man called Trump to save our Country and her people...
The Obama administration was a hair away from destroying our Country and that filthy, evil -itch Hillary Clinton would have had you and me in gulags...
Thank You Lord for sending President Trump, keep his family, businesses, America and the American People safe from harm...AMEN!!!
I hear this guy is directly related to Pee Wee Herman.
Quagmire. Certified Grade-A prime quagmire.
With eight years of Obama’s dithering, kicking the can down the road, and surrendering, there is no telling what kind of clean up efforts the United States will have to undertake.
For the entire history of American intervention in the Middle East, a principle tenant of American policy was to keep Russia out of the Middle East. Obama let them in. They will have to be gotten out somehow.
And the unhappiest are the (Shia) Iranians.
Shia caliphate vs. Sunni caliphate. The Trump admin. probably figures that ISIS is too weakened right to ever take over the region, and that thwarting Iranian influence takes precedence. And that means installing a Sunni puppet in Syria. ISIS may very well be our target next.
Obama deliberately engineered a most FUBAR situation. First he created ISIS, then he freed up $150 billion to the Iranians.
I agree with Ben Stein on this.
I agree up to a point. It's true that no president since WWII would have let Russia get this kind of foothold in the M.E. But Russia is now firmly entrenched. How, short of all out war with Russia, do you think we get them out now? I think they're there to stay.
Yes, there IS a huge difference. It's so huge it's not allowed between opposite sides in a declared war. These are "weapons of mass destruction" that are designated so by almost every nation on earth, and every such nation agrees not to use them under any circumstances.
If you don't like it, Ben, then go about changing the LAW if you wish.
And what other provisions of Articles 23-28 of the Hague Convention would you eliminate, Ben?
Article 22 The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited. Article 23 Besides the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially prohibited:-- (a.) To employ poison or poisoned arms; (b.) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; (c.) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down arms, or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion; (d.) to declare that no quarter will be given; (e.) To employ arms, projectiles, or material of a nature to cause superfluous injury; (f.) To make improper use of a flag of truce, the national flag, or military ensigns and the enemy's uniform, as well as the distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention; (g.) To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war. Article 24 Ruses of war and the employment of methods necessary to obtain information about the enemy and the country, are considered allowable. Article 25 The attack or bombardment of towns, villages, habitations or buildings which are not defended, is prohibited. Article 26 The Commander of an attacking force, before commencing a bombardment, except in the case of an assault, should do all he can to warn the authorities. Article 27 In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps should be taken to spare as far as possible edifices devoted to religion, art, science, and charity, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not used at the same time for military purposes. The besieged should indicate these buildings or places by some particular and visible signs, which should previously be notified to the assailants. Article 28 The pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is prohibited
Apparently Ben thinks the whole idea of having "rules of war" are pointless and silly.
Grow up, Ben.
I would like to make a few responses:
“we have no idea of who the people fighting in Syria are.” - We do know that a lot of those gassed were _not_ fighting. What seems to be happening over there is a genocide of a certain portion of the Syrian people in a Sunni vs. Shia vs. Christian conflict. More in a bit on that.
“how is it different from them being killed by high explosives or bullets?” In the end, it’s not, of course. But there is a difference between a more-or-less quick death and a tortured death.
“when, in the whole history of warfare, was any nation at war stopped by aerial bombing, with the exception of nuclear bombing of Japan?” Well, in the entire history of warfare, there’s only been about 80 years in which ‘aerial bombardment’ even might have made a difference. There’s a theory out there that Nixon might have been within days or weeks of getting Hanoi to surrender thanks to his carpet-bombing campaign. So that might have been twice. I think you could argue for more cases involving the Iraq wars.
But that’s actually irrelevant. This wasn’t about ending a war... it was about a response to an atrocity. And we’re still monitoring this situation.
All that said...
> Since Russia was apparently in on the knowledge of this gassing incident, that suggests something else to me.
> Some (even in this forum) are suggesting that the gas attack was faked. I disagree, and suggest that we have some smart people that check such things before we go off half-cocked.
> However, that does NOT mean that the attack wasn’t staged. That these people were intentionally killed by Assad with Russia’s backing as a test of Trump by Putin to see what he might do.
That would certainly fit with the behaviors of all those involved... never mind their complete lack of respect for life, which tells US something.
Trump passed the test, I believe. He did it in a manner that should get the world to sit up and take notice. North Korea posed the next test. We’ll see how that one goes in the coming days and weeks.
To be skeptical of foreign entanglements is to embrace prudence. President Trump has the chance to be one of our greatest presidents if he can steer clear of the same mistakes that have stained so many good (and not so good) administrations. I pray for President Trump every day that he will abide in God's wisdom.
Ben Stein??? that old liberal gasbag is still around?
yes - 14 years and still getting sucked in
$6 trillion squandered for nothing
Unlike the bigmouth keyboard Pattons, Stein goes to Walter Reed regularly and the carnage he deals with there has affected him greatly. The Grahams and McCains of the world should be required to do the same. Wait, I take that back. They’d probably get a thrill out of it.
Part of the problem is that the average citizen doesn’t know much about chemical weapons.
A rifle is aimed. An artillery shell is aimed. A bayonet is aimed. A bomb is aimed, even an atomic one.
People think that chemical weapons are this hundred mile wide cloud engulfing everyone and everything, even people who aren’t Soldiers.
They don’t work that way.
They are aimed.
You don’t just sit back and blast. That’s a waste of a weapon. Armies don’t do that. Not intentionally, anyway.
There is a lot of land and air and water to get chemicals on. All these things reduce the effects of chemical weapons. Chemical weapons are really bad when they hit by you and you have no protective gear.
Chemical weapons can be released from: shells from guns, bombs from aircraft, aircraft spraying, trucks spraying (where the crew is wearing protective gear).
The area affected is determined by how much chemical is dispersed. Some chemicals stay in the area longer than others.
We should respect chemical weapons, but we need not be terrified of them.
Now biological weapons.....
Why do we have that impression?
Because the Obama administration told us he was a very bad guy.
The lamestream media told us he was a very bad guy.
Why would they insist he was a very bad guy?
Because Obama and Clinton wanted Syria for their ISIS buds as part of the Arab Spring and Assad kicked up a fuss and would not let them take Syria.
Assad never assaulted the Christian minority. But ISIS did.
ISIS has successfully done things to the Syrian people but their willing toadies in the White House and the American press somehow want us to think that Assad is the one very bad dude.
Don't forget that Putin is supposedly our mortal enemy. Why? Wait for it - because he enforces laws against homosexuality and he won't let gays adopt Russian children.
How can we get verified proof about any attack in Syria when Obama, Clinton and the whole gaggle of yes-man windbags insist that Assad is totally responsible for "it all."
For me the jury is still out.
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