“....they will then like us and not want to kill us (The Bush/Harf doctrine).”
Putting president Bush and Harf in the same sentence is insulting. I’m sure that will be the majority opinion in our military.
In your #42:
“Christians have been living in this dangerous part of the world among sectarian muslim warfare for centuries. They should know the score by now. They should defend themselves a la Israel. Arm up to the teeth and take up defensive positions . I wouldn’t mind helping them do that.”
Simplistic, to say the least. How can Christians or any other minority have their own country “a la Israel?” Amazing.
If we don’t defend the Christians by killing the Islamists main force in the ME, more defenseless christians will be slaughtered. Our regime is allowing another holocaust. Years later, the handwringing about what we should have done will be debated.
“None of our business” doesn’t work in today’s world. The Islamists are inside the gates because oceans are hurdles no more.
The old isolationism is the modern ducking the responsibility of defending the American people.
You are the one who is being simplistic.
I’m looking at cold hard reality. Plus I’ve travelled extensively in the Middle East and North Africa and I’ve read lots of history of the region ... way back.
These religious wars have been going on for over 1000 years, since way before there was a USA. We are not going to stop them even if we devoted every man woman and child in the United States to only that task and no other.
Look, the world is dangerous and bad stuff happens everywhere. Christians in the Middle East know who their neighbors are and what they are like. They’ve known for centuries. My own ancestors left Syria for this reason.
What is your plan? I don’t see a workable plan that is going to make Muslims stop killing a) each other and b) others when the get the chance.
Why are we concentrating on A ?
Why are we arming and training Muslims ... over and over again?
I like Bush and I voted for Bush but his position on “minds and hearts” is indistinguishable from Harf’s. It doesn’t work. They will never ever like us and they will never ever stop killing each other (and blaming others). It’s just that harsh reality.
I do not agree with sending our military over there to protect some Muslims from other Muslims in a 1000+ year old religious civil war ... and that is what we are doing. It might sound good and noble and altruistic and all that but in reality it is just stupid.