Posted on 07/31/2006 5:09:06 AM PDT by SJackson
You are correct. If Israel loses, so does the US.
How would it divert resources if you use tools you are not using now? I am talking about carrier groups. You are correct in the amount of ordinance in Vietnam. But I think we are dealing with different people here. In Vietnam, you had a nation somewhat conditioned by war. For how many years was Vietnam in conflict? When was the last time the enemy took it to the people of Iran? Did we bomb the political leadership of Vietnam? Time to go after the leadership and that includes the Imman's.
Israel cant do anything about Iran, or much about Syria, those jobs are left for the west. I think a free Lebanon would be a victory, but youre right that Iraq is the regional key at this point. Syria will do what they need to survive, if that means getting out of the terror business, theyll likely do it. Iran has greater ambitions.
Israel can, and likely at some point will, set back Iran's nuclear ambitions. Beyond that, they can't project force there. Syria, I doubt Israel would start that one, but could and would forcefully respond. The UN, they've been there for decades. No one will attack them, they side with Hizbollah. The south has been armed under their direct "supervision", with cooperation from the Lebanese government.
Right on!
I can't stand this "we're doomed" garbage.
"I hate to say it. but it is starting to appear that Israel has soundly smacked the tar baby."
Hello Mitt!! ;)
I also think the west, including the US, will eventually lose this war a bit at a time over a long period of time. I think it will be several more decades, if ever, before Islam completely takes over the US. But Europe is much more vulnerable to Islam, and I think it will come under Islamic rule sometime in the next couple of decades. An Islamic Europe armed with nuclear weapons and ICBMs could have it's way with a peace-at-any-price US unless the prevailing American aversion to inflicting or taking casualties is overcome.
The western democracies have become so adverse to both taking and inflicting casualties, either military or civilian, that we can't effectively fight a war anymore. It's estimated that Allied bombing and shelling during the overall D-Day invasion period resulted in the deaths of 10,000 French civilians. Today the media would make those casualties such an issue that the US government wouldn't allow our military to even consider another such an invasion. OTOH Islam has no qualms whatsoever about killing civilians of either side whether they be babies or grandmothers, and they have no qualms about sacrificing their own children as martyrs for Allah. In fact they actively encourage that practice.
I don't see how the west can win this war, and it is a war against all of western civilization, unless the American voters wake up and smell the coffee. War is a horrible thing, and in modern warfare there are almost always many more innocent civilian casualties than military casualties. But if we don't win this war western civilization is over and done with, and we will face a new Dark Age period of oppressive Islamic rule under Sharia law that will make the old post-Roman Empire Dark Ages look like an age of enlightenment and toleration. Think it can't happen? Almost 1-1/2 billion Muslims, soon to be armed with nuclear ICBMs btw, say you're wrong.
The most frustrating part to me of all this is that we could easily win this war and avoid the unimaginable disaster of an Islamic-governed western world if the American people would only let our military do the horrible things that would have to be done in order to win. Of course the innocent children of Islam didn't start this war, but neither did American or Israeli children and the responsibility for protecting them from Islamic aggression falls on the US and Israeli governments. I had hoped that Israeli voters and the governments they elect would not succumb to the anti-war, peace-at-any-price mindset that has virtually paralyzed the US and western Europe for the last 3 decades, but apparently they are now in the process of doing just that.
I don't like being this negative and pessimistic, so if some of you folks can change my mind with factual information please feel free to disagree with my gloomy outlook.
Sorry I was not clear in original post.
The war with Syria and Iran, will be a US or UN, or NATO operation. It won't officially include Israel. The first part in Lebanon is to get the Israeli/Lebanon part out of the way.
The grounds will be:
Syria-state sponsored murder of Lebanese Prime Minister, Assad will be charged, but won't turn up (obviously).
Iran-Breach of non-proliferation treaty.
PS I'm not party to any secrets. I know what our opponents know, these things are common knowledge, and not secret.
Yes, I agree.
I've always felt that if we were to solve this problem in the Middle East, the way to do it on the cheap would be to simply unleash the Israelis.
"On the cheap", you say? Yes, when compared to the costs incurred in the future, which are always rising.
It's too bad we don't have Ronnie in the Oval Office today. He understood the import of "international opinion". It's value to the US is zero.
These are parlous times we live in. The fools who masquerade as Islamic fundamentalists have convinced themselves they are now strong enough for global jihad. Unfortunately for them, they are not, and consequently will, in all likelihood, receive a fool's comeuppance.
Unfortunately for us, they are going to try and kill a lot of us, too, in the process.
Thus, we have before us only ONE alternative - we must kill them before they try and kill us.
Simple, but so few see it as such.
And because of that blindness, we're all going to pay a terrific price.
CA....
In the end, the Israelis will probably lose more men than if they'd pursued an aggressive plan. Also, they will lose the "public relations" war, regardless of how many more innocents the Hezzies were responsible for.
Was Al-Sadr in the first battle of Fallujah? I was of the impression he was holed un in a mosque in Najaf at that time.
You can't win by leaving sanctuaries and pulling punches.
Israel has all the means in the world to win this war. It has an army of over a million men, with 5000 tanks. Nothing in the region can remotely stop them. (If Egypt and Saudi Arabia both declared war, it would be debatable. otherwise, not). What Israel doesn't have is the will to win this war. It wants to be liked by western liberals and the media and its own left. And since those are also implacable, the only want to be liked by them is to lose.
As for targeting Iran "next", um, who is targeting it? Nobody is targeting it. Bush has zero political capital and can't start another. No one in the Republican party is seriously proposing war with Iran. A few pundits are, but they have no responsibilities. Nor is it very likely the Republicans will be left in charge of any of it, much longer.
Iran is simply winning. On the political front, which is the decisive one.
In a war, it is necessary to face facts.
Exactly. At this point Israel is "mucking out the stable." There will be more manure after they've left, but if they repeat the chore sooner, they'll find it a little easier.
Post # 11 (Plenopotentuary) is interesting, perceiving that there is a strategic dimension in this, anticipating a larger shakedown with Iran and Syria in the future. It's a view I hadn't given sufficient consideration to. But I don't think it contradicts more immediate goals.
We need to redefine success for these kinds of incursions. If its going to be "wack-a-mole" then victory should be defined as destroying the hole, not killing the mole. We cannot overturn all regimes and impose governments, and this is what most people think of as victory. All we need to do is cripple their millitary and make their population restive so that the ruling party will need to divert their attention to domestic control. All governments are democratic to some extent.
Regrettably, I have to agree with you.
Said the same thing over 2 weeks ago about losing the war. As far as the Left, they never gave a damn anyway. All they want is their power back. They hate Bush so much they would shoot their own kids if it would server the propose. They are the American brain dead.
"We are dealing with Muslims here, not rational people."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And THAT is the elephant in the room. They are violent, stupid, and easily led.
Violent doesn't ever equal "peaceful" and it takes some intelligence to equal "democratic". None of that exists in the majority of Middle East muslims.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.