Dear Salam, (part eighteen - upping the ante)
Dear Salam:
Great Britain has done more to assist the freedom loving, democracy loving, rule-of-law loving, people of the Middle East than the rest of the Western world combined. America has done 10 times more than the U.K. And yet, we haven’t done enough. We haven’t truly committed to this grand and noble endeavor. We have sent our fine soldiers and marines; we have sent our money, but we haven’t truly committed, because we, the vast majority of Americans, haven’t made any personal sacrifice in furtherance of the cause. Without our personal commitment, Iraq is improperly considered to be Bush’s War, not Our War. If it were truly Our War, there would be no talk of exit strategies, the talk would be of victory strategies.
Islamofacism, or whatever you wish to call it, will never be finessed, managed, contained, or controlled by patient diplomacy. It will grow ever more violent and dangerous until it is defeated. The West can defeat it now, at great cost and sacrifice, or it can defeat it later at a much greater cost and sacrifice – there is no third option.
It is time to up the ante. It is time to let the world know that America, all of America, is ready to go to war to defeat an enemy that is a threat to the entire world.
Specifically, it is time to place a significantly large tax on oil and earmark all the funds for growth in the defense budget. In addition, it is time to put Iran out of the oil exporting business. All oil tankers currently in Iran should be allowed to leave, but empty tankers should not be allowed to return. All oil pipelines out of Iraq should be severed at the border, and should remain severed.
I don’t have a next step to propose. I don’t make any particular predictions as to the consequences of the above steps. Maybe, just maybe, the world will see that America is truly ready to be “the strong horse” in the Middle East and Islamofacism will be defeated quickly. Maybe, things will instead get much worse. I fully expect the U.S. economy to suffer. It is time that we suffer a bit. It is time that we realize we have a war to win, not a situation to exit.
Hang in there, Salam. Americans know that thousands of people in your part of the world are dying because they seek freedom, democracy, and the rule-of-law and because they looked to America for help. You and I both know they are worthy of support, not abandonment.
Love,
Clarence
Great Britain has done more to assist the freedom loving, democracy loving, rule-of-law loving, people of the Middle East than the rest of the Western world combined. America has done 10 times more than the U.K. And yet, we haven’t done enough. We haven’t truly committed to this grand and noble endeavor. We have sent our fine soldiers and marines; we have sent our money, but we haven’t truly committed, because we, the vast majority of Americans, haven’t made any personal sacrifice in furtherance of the cause. Without our personal commitment, Iraq is improperly considered to be Bush’s War, not Our War. If it were truly Our War, there would be no talk of exit strategies, the talk would be of victory strategies.
Islamofacism, or whatever you wish to call it, will never be finessed, managed, contained, or controlled by patient diplomacy. It will grow ever more violent and dangerous until it is defeated. The West can defeat it now, at great cost and sacrifice, or it can defeat it later at a much greater cost and sacrifice – there is no third option.
It is time to up the ante. It is time to let the world know that America, all of America, is ready to go to war to defeat an enemy that is a threat to the entire world.
Specifically, it is time to place a significantly large tax on oil and earmark all the funds for growth in the defense budget. In addition, it is time to put Iran out of the oil exporting business. All oil tankers currently in Iran should be allowed to leave, but empty tankers should not be allowed to return. All oil pipelines out of Iraq should be severed at the border, and should remain severed.
I don’t have a next step to propose. I don’t make any particular predictions as to the consequences of the above steps. Maybe, just maybe, the world will see that America is truly ready to be “the strong horse” in the Middle East and Islamofacism will be defeated quickly. Maybe, things will instead get much worse. I fully expect the U.S. economy to suffer. It is time that we suffer a bit. It is time that we realize we have a war to win, not a situation to exit.
Hang in there, Salam. Americans know that thousands of people in your part of the world are dying because they seek freedom, democracy, and the rule-of-law and because they looked to America for help. You and I both know they are worthy of support, not abandonment.
Love,
Clarence
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
- Dear Salam (part nineteen - proxy wars)
- Dear Salam, (part eighteen - upping the ante)
- Dear Salam (part seventeen -- a note of praise)...
- Dear Salam (part three - my two hats)
- Dear Salam (part two - Why Iraq)
- Dear Salam (part one - greetings)