[allendale]

Initially all these entanglements seem to have some noble purpose. American involvement just delays and prevents the locals from reaching their own consensus. BTW in case you hadn’t noticed oil producers are desperate and will remain desperate to sell their oil to anyone with hard currency or they starve.

Deployed, brave Americans die far from home and make the ultimate sacrifice for no good purpose. Sadly they are forgotten by most. Who remembers the dead from the USS Liberty, the USS Cole or the dead in Iraq and Afghanistan?

[robowombat]

Noble purpose, really. This one actually makes sense from a national interest perspective. A shooting war between the KSA and Iran would have some very unpleasant economic impacts. The US is simply showing the flag here. A n action with a long pedigree. US armed forces exist to defend national interests. In this case that is being done at minimal risk, I might add. The Iranian clerics know what consequences would follow any direct attack on US forces. The armed forces are raised, equipped, trained and paid to go in harm's way, that is their job. The national leadership ought and I say ought, therefore carefully examine any foreign operation as to whose benefit is it in. In this case deterring conflict in the Gulf is very much in the national interest. This is the difference between having US forces interpose themselves between Turks, Kurds, and various Syrians for no rational national interest or objective.