Reagan handled Libya so well. One attack and they went quiet for decades, giving up their nuclear program along the way. Until Hillary screwed things up.
Trump is doing the best he can with the politicians he has to work with.
“President Donald Trump was not elected to civilize the Middle East.”
Defending our embassy and people that work there =/= civilizing the middle east.
Or because they are there, they dont really matter?
When you are in a fight, fight to win.
Ah, the old ‘don’t anger the terrorist he might get angrier and... commit acts of terrorism argument. Leaving terrorists alone means they stay only half angry so they’ll just use one bomb belt instead of two.
Three block war:
Block 1 - Handing out food
Block 2 - Calming agitated crowds
Block 3 - Armed fighting
Oh, don’t forget Human Terrain Mapping and hugging you inner-child..!
What if on a day of heavy trench-digging one of our guys checks out a PAIR OF BOOBS...?
Come on, let’s really think this through..!
Can’t WAIT for some good ole IRAN NATION-BUILDING, oh joooy..!
Isn’t THAT going to be fun...!
Just let them keep killing US service members?
No thanks.
This is a thoughtful article. Thanks for posting. Although I think this strike was totally justified, I wonder whether it was a good idea. My hope is that there’s some non-obvious angle Trump and U.S. intelligence are following.
Like, maybe they have figured out that these two guys were critical in keeping various factions within the Revolutionary guards (or the Iranian regime generally) balanced or in check. Perhaps the resulting internecine battle (within the Iranian leadership) to fill these posts will help destabilize the regime at a very delicate time for them.
We had a balance of power situation with Iraq somewhat bottling up Iran until George W. Bush idiotically removed the Sunni dictator, and bringing in enough “democracy” for the pro-Iranian Shi’a majority to dominate. Iran could not have asked for more.
Saddam ran a brutal Sunni kleptocracy with an iron fist for a reason (besides liking it): it’s the only thing that would contain the factional strife in his country. Current solution: Install a new Saddam. Otherwise, deal with their mess forever.
The author mistakenly believes that the U.S. ever had any interest in “liberalizing” anything in the Middle East. The reality is that “freedom and democracy” is nothing more than a political slogan used by American politicians to dupe low-information voters to support foreign military campaigns that are being carried out against the best interests of those voters. The U.S. has been pursuing a foreign/military strategy in the Middle East that is designed solely for the foreign and corporate interests that have owned our government for years.
While I shed no tears for that murderer the article makes good points. Way back when Daddy Bush foolishly sent our troops to “liberate” Kuwait there were many on the FR who recognized the futility of getting involved in this ME shythole. Anyone with an even cursory understanding of the NE knew that it would be a quagmire.
Well, welcome to it. No amount of bombing or infusions of cash or clever politicking or nation building will result in anything except more disasters and more quagmire. A load of jingoistic claptrap wont effect a dammed thing either. Just GTFO. Use force to destroy nuke capabilities that attempt to develop there. And leave these savages to savage each other. It isn’t worth another American’s life.
Remember Kuwait? They don’t want us there either. These people will suck up every dollar and life we have and we will see nothing for it.
”Persians and Ottomans were the natural balancers of the Middle East up until 1919. Why not have that back 100 years later?”
There are people meant to rule and people who need to be ruled. Turks and Persians are the natural rulers of Arabs and displacing them from this role has been a disaster.
Not quite as bad as turning Germans into pacifists. But bad nonetheless.
Bomb thr crap out of them, arrest John Kerry for sedation then hang him
Iran has been spoiling for a fight since Carter!!
Give it to them, cold, and in full measure!!
What universe is this writer from?
The Ottomans were enslaving Christians and committing genocide right up to the end of their existence.
The Armenian genocide was used by Hitler as the prototype for the Holocaust.
I generally like The Federalist, but some of their articles are clunkers, and this is one. Trump made a limited, targeted response to an attack on our embassy, but to listen to this author you’d think he had declared war and was amassing 500,000 troops to invade Iran.
“ If you think the thousands marching to the U.S. embassy are all Iranian agents, and otherwise both Sunni and Shia Iraqis have a deep-seated appreciation for all things related to James Madison, my name is Ahmed Chalabi, and I have a nation to sell to you for rebuilding.”
That’s very good.
“ If you think the thousands marching to the U.S. embassy are all Iranian agents, and otherwise both Sunni and Shia Iraqis have a deep-seated appreciation for all things related to James Madison, my name is Ahmed Chalabi, and I have a nation to sell to you for rebuilding.”
That’s very good.