|
NewMediaJournal.us
www.NewMediaJournal.us
Return
to Article
Kindle Compatible
Please, Mr. Custer,
We Don't Want To Go
November 24, 2009
When the
neo-Cons, a group of liberal Democrats, realized
Margret Thatcher was right in saying, “The
trouble with socialism is that eventually you run
out of other people’s money,” they decided
Liberalism is, as Michael Savage contends, a
mental disorder. In the 1970s and 80s they
abandoned the Good Ship Democrat proclaiming
themselves Born-Again Republicans. Generally they
still carry the baggage of their former psychosis
when it comes to social issues but when it comes to
foreign affairs and military matters they sound like
Errol Flynn playing George Custer in
They Died With Their Boots On, “Don’t wait for
orders from headquarters. Mount up everybody and
ride to the sound of the guns.”
These neo-Cons not only flew high into the circles of on-air
talking-heads they swirled through the Bush White House leading us into
Iraq. Now they’re beating the drums for massive reinforcements in
Afghanistan.
The War in Iraq was a
pre-emptive war, meaning we hit them back first. Pre-emptive war has
a long history, the Romans and the Germans used it but this was the
first time America climbed on the get-in-the-first-whack bandwagon. The
mission of rolling the big rock up that steep hill has not yet been
fully accomplished. Due to the tireless and valiant sacrifices of our
heroic military the Iraqi theater is winding down into a perpetual
garrison to make sure our now friendly ally remains friendly joining the
list of
American military garrisons in over 63 countries.
The War in Afghanistan is a completely different situation. The Taliban
managed to subdue most of the country once
the Soviet armies retreated in defeat. These purveyors of religious
purity and peace killed tortured and maimed anyone with the
chutzpa to disregard any of their religiously inspired
rules such as little
girls who tried to learn how to read or
women who dared to leave the house without a male escort or without
wearing a tent. Unable to curb their enthusiasm they didn’t forget to
kill torture or maim any
man who didn’t grow a long enough beard, boys who didn’t memorize
their rule book fast enough and of course any member of the
Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgendered society who happened to be
trapped in their society. Under these turbaned and bearded fascists
Saturday night soccer games were transformed into ritual
beheadings and
mutilations. Then for fun they would
destroy historic works of art and
crush people under walls as they waited for the Sunday
stoning.
Stoically we considered all of these barbarous atrocities their own
affair and never made a move to clean up this cesspool of 13th century
evil until after the 9-11 war crimes. Then we politely asked them to
kick the culprits out and we would let them go back to their celebration
of depravity but they wouldn’t listen. They stood by their man and in
retaliation we sent in the Special Ops, bribed anyone who would take a
dollar in the hand in place of a bullet in the head and in short order
drove Omar, Osama and their disciples of peace into Pakistan to fester
and plot an encore performance. A
confusing post-invasion coalition eventually morphed into the
corrupt but pro-American
Karzai regime.
Then our friends the neo-Cons expressed their belief that the mistake
we’d made after the proto-Taliban
Mujahedeen we supported defeated the Soviets was that we didn’t stay
and do some
nation-building. So this time we stayed to do some
nation-building. Today, the regrouped Taliban are using the surge
strategy to overwhelm our scattered troops. We’re trying to build a
nation where none exists.
Afghanistan is a fiction of western minds. We created it as single
entity instead of a region. We drew it on a map and piously repeat that
it exists like a mantra or a fever dream. To the medieval tribal people
who actually inhabit the region
their loyalty is to their family, their clan and their tribe.
It is apparent to everyone except seemingly the people American
presidents ask for advice that no matter how much we want a nation to be
built we don’t have the raw material as in identifiable citizens of a
nation, the treasure or the patience to invest another decade or two to
get electricity outside Kabul or democracy in Kabul. The whole world
knows we are
going to eventually bail-out, either
declaring victory à la Nixon or admitting defeat à la Gorbachev and
coming home. Why should one more American lose their life for a cause
that has been stretched out way past our initial victory into our
present morass?
On the
campaign trail Mr. Obama claimed this war for himself. Since his
inauguration he has repeated Afghanistan is a
war of necessity. He’s
installed his own commanders and almost immediately
sent more troops. Now he hesitates to the point that everyone can
see he doesn’t have the desire or the will to do what would be necessary
to win. Let’s hope he has the political courage to withdraw before
Afghanistan becomes the
Little Big Horn with our brave troops as the
Seventh Calvary.
Please, Mr. Custer, we
don't want to go!
About Robert R. Owens, PhD
Robert R. Owens,
PhD is an Associate Professor of History at
Southside Virginia Community College where he also
teaches Political Science, Religion and
Leadership. He write a weekly column of opinion and
observations which appears in numerous locations
both print and electronic. He is the author of three
history books currently on the market;
America Won the Vietnam War, The
Azusa Street Revival
and
Never Forget!
He maintains an archive of his articles
here. |
