Whoa! What's this? A traitor in our midst? A Benedict Arnold right under our nose? How could any patriotic American even ask such a question? Frankly, I don't know how any patriotic American could NOT ask such a question, if they have given any thought to the damage being done to America, and the disastrous events in the world relating to that damage.
COULD LOSING THE WAR IN IRAQ BE GOOD FOR AMERICA?
By: Jim Moore
Whoa! What's this? A traitor in our midst? A Benedict Arnold right under our nose? How could any patriotic American even ask such a question?
Frankly, I don't know how any patriotic American could NOT ask such a question, if they have given any thought to the damage being done to America, and the disastrous events in the world relating to that damage.
There's an old saying, that the hardest lessons to learn are the easiest to forget. We are living proof of that axiom. We, in America, have forgotten all the lessons that we learned in the 200+ years of our nation's existence.
So, what lessons did we forgot that will help put this war into proper perspective, and justify that: "losing the war might be good for America?"
LESSON #1: WE'RE STRONG, BUT NOT OMNIPOTENT
It took America several years of fighting in the Korean icebox and the steaming jungles of Vietnam to realize that as powerful as we are, when we're fighting nations whose people refuse to be conquered, the war is over before it's begun. It is one of war's great tragedies that we had to lose 34,000 men in Korea and 55,000 in Vietnam before we learned this simple truth. Must more of our soldiers die in Iraq before the lesson of our limitations sinks in?
LESSON #2: WAR WITHOUT CONGRESS' OKAY IS A CRIME
Whether or not the President asked Congress for a declaration of war is not the issue. Bush made it clear that, with or without congressional consent, he intended to attack Iraq. And he did. Yet, the U.S. Constitution explicitly states that Congress alone, has the authority to declare war. Ignoring this lesson is not only costing lives, it is giving the president dictatorial power. And those powers are the great destroyer of freedom.
LESSON #3: FOREIGN MEDDLING GUARANTEES TROUBLE
Our founding fathers warned us about interfering in foreign disputes. They knew that once a nation gets involved in another nation's problems it becomes nearly impossible to escape the entanglement. But we forgot their warning. So now, whatever resources we have in manpower and equipment, is being lost to us and to our country. In Iraq, the rescuer, has become the interloper. And we now find we are depleting our manpower and resources, and being hated as well.
LESSONS #4: A NATION'S SOVEREIGNTY IS SACROSANCT
Sovereignty should reign supreme. It is a country's heartbeat and is what separates (but not alienates) it from all other nations. New World Order "architects" work for the dissolution of national sovereignties and borders, because a "universal" system cannot exist without first eliminating the notion of national pride. And when one nation intervenes by warring on another, the assault on its sovereignty is all the more heinous.
LESSON #5: INEFFECTIVE LEADERS NEED REPLACING
After the 9/11 tragedy, we had every right to make the perpetrators pay for their crime. But after two years of vengeful rhetoric, and dubious results, we are discovering that this administration knows more about raising money than it does about fighting a war. Our leaders are directionless. Thus, we are fighting illegal battles, in a vicious country, with no sign of the wanted culprits, a continuous loss of military and civilian lives, billions of dollars spent unwisely, no plan for post-war occupation, and no exit strategy. Someone must pay for this ineptitude.
LESSON #6: SOME SECRETS ARE THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS
We are told so little about what is REALLY going on in Iraq that one might think the war is finally over. It's proper for governments to hide sensitive information that, if leaked, could harm the country. It is wrong, however, for a government to treat information that the public can safely know, as untouchable. In fact, it is unconscionable A secretive government is hiding the truth about something. The government that keeps its citizens in the dark qualifies for totalitarianism.
LESSON #7: A STRONG DEFENSE IS THE FIRST PRIORITY
The 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center might not have happened, had we given first priority to America's defense capabilities. But somehow, the Defense department got mystically morphed into the Offense department. As such, it has the bulk of our manpower and armament busy fighting wars, instead of protecting our home shores---which the Constitution says is the military's responsibility. The same shores, incidentally ,that the president expects us to believe are more secure with our troops in Iraq.
LESSON #8: MONEY FOR WAR IS BETTER SPENT AT HOME
At last report, the war in Iraq is costing us a billion dollars a week, not including the billion extra asked for (and gotten) by the administration.
In addition, Americans we'll never know how many billions of dollars it costs us to feed, clothe, arm, and supply our troops "on guard" in 130 countries around the globe. These military expenditures are skyrocketing our national debt. But worse, it is keeping us from beefing up our border patrols, building adequate schools, repairing our aging highways, establishing a healthcare program, financing alternative energy research, and dozens of other national needs. But first, we have a war to pay for, right?
LESSON #9: DISSENTING OPINIONS ARE CRUCIAL
Not only are we considered traitors or troublemakers when we disagree about the rationale for going to war in Iraqi, but when countries like Germany and France raise dissenting voices, they are castigated as ungrateful peasants, or ignored as irrelevant entities. Everyone has opinions. Even if opinions differ from the mainstream and become dissent, they still deserve respect and a fair hearing Why? Because that is the oil that lubricates democracy. Thomas Jefferson said: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." How soon we forget.
LESSON #10: WEIGH CAREFULLY WHAT YOU ARE TOLD
It is hardly news that during wartime the mainstream media is slanted toward the administration's version of it. Media is in business to make money. News is a big part of that business. So the media caters to its audience by telling it what it wants to hear---or what the administration wants it to hear. That's why what you hear about the war in Iraq is slanted toward the positive, when in fact, all is not going well for us over there.
When what you are told does not square with less optimistic reports of it, cynicism is a forgivable sin.
LESSON #11: KEEP ALIEN FORCES OUT OF GOVERNMENT
By alien is not meant people from another planet. These aliens are government officials who are not elected, owe allegiance to more countries than America, are devious in their methods, have agendas at odds with America's values, and use the highest offices of the U.S. Government as their base of operations. Such are the neo-cons---a.k.a. the shadow government---in the administration. That is distressing enough. But the fact that their true agenda is to scrap our Constitution, abolish our sovereignty, and drive us into the socialist New Word Order, makes the neo-cons America's most dangerous enemy. Our Founders knew subversion existed, but never imagined foreign entanglements right here at home.
Now you know why I think losing this war might be good for America. We need to re-learn the lessons we forgot.
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."