THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ

http://steven.newton1.home.att.net/ ^ | 2004 | Steven J. Newton

[Steve Newton]

What a lot of our fellow Americans are having a hard time understanding, is the strategic importance of Iraq and Afghanistan in our 20 year war on terrorism. The war in Iraq was not only to free 25 million people, to remove one of histories most notorious dictators or to remove the possibility of Sadam handing the terrorist WMD’s, it was also to place ourselves in a position directly next door to Iran, Syria and yes even Saudi Arabia. (Not too far from our Chinese friends either!)

[Steve Newton]

THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN By Steve Newton

What a lot of our fellow Americans are having a hard time understanding, is the strategic importance of Iraq and Afghanistan in our 20 year war on terrorism. The war in Iraq was not only to free 25 million people, to remove one of histories most notorious dictators or to remove the possibility of Sadam handing the terrorist WMD’s, it was also to place ourselves in a position directly next door to Iran, Syria and yes even Saudi Arabia. (Not too far from our Chinese friends either!)

Fighting a war is never about just one objective. A good military strategist will think ahead to our struggles with future adversaries. Position and logistics are just as important a part of planning for war as anything. We are fighting a world war and we must position ourselves to prosecute it. The effects are already being seen from our being in a strategic position. Libya was the first to go and I have a feeling Syria will not last long.

A strike on, and possible war with, Iran is inevitable. A nuclear Iran is unacceptable just as I believe a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable. We made enough mistakes and believed enough lies in regard to North Korea, that we now find ourselves unable to solve the situation except through negotiations with a country that for 50 years we have been unable to agree on ANYTHING. This cannot and must not repeat itself with Iran.

We should carry the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes to Iran and we have only 15 months to do it in, tops. This is not a job we can leave to the Israelis because we have ALREADY waited long enough for Iran to develop missiles capable of striking our friends. In fact, Iran is already starting to feel the squeeze. Their government has made a statement that pre-emptive strikes are not just the United States prerogative. Sounds like fear to me. The frightening scenario could be that a Kerry presidency takes over and a new doctrine of “sensitivity” becomes our foreign policy. This will ultimately lead to disastrous consequences. Sometimes fighting NOW saves lives later.

Also the goal of repositioning our military MUST continue for more than one reason. Let’s be as forthright here as we can. I believe that for the countries that did not support us in our most recent endeavors, removing our bases will be an economic slap in their face. Well good. But the main goal is to position our WHOLE military for our future conflicts. Positioning some of our military in the “STAN’S” will further increase our envelopment of radical Islamic states. Besides, I believe that they would really like us there as a hedge against a resurgent Russia.

Removing a few thousand of our troops from South Korea to fall back positions will not weaken the security of that country but SHOULD quiet the many protestors who have nothing better to do than demand we leave. (Puerto Rico is a good example. Many famous people protested with the locals for stopping the use of our firing range, but they did not know or care that without a firing range there was no longer any use for the Navy base at Roosevelt Roads. The governor of Puerto Rico was very upset that the protestors would cost his economy millions)

It is time that the world faces up to the fact that if you don’t want U.S. forces on your land there are many other countries waiting to take your place. And these countries are of more strategic importance than you. Re-alignment is a must and it is sound military thinking. There are a lot of people that say the Conservatives always get this country in a war. Well to that I answer, yes because most of the time we are trying to clean up the mess the liberals have left behind. Where we go wrong is when we mix liberal political thinking with the military. We should have already learned this lesson. We paid for it in blood.

© Steve Newton