Posted by
Christopher on Friday, September 14, 2007 11:37:13 AM
Thanks to Norman Podhoretz, I finally understand. I always knew the underlying desire for self-hating and Isolationist Americans to see their country lose in Vietnam and now in Iraq (to a lesser extent in Afghanistan) – hence the terms “quagmire”, “un-winnable”, etc. I never quite understood, however, the refusal to include Iraq as one of several fronts in the larger War on Terror/Terrorist’s War on Us/World War 4. Podhoretz points out this is the same denial that wouldn’t allow the Vietnam conflict to be placed within the larger War against expansionist Communism/the Soviet Union/the Cold War/World War 3.
Everyone has seen the bumper stickers “End the war”, etc. In my mind I always say, “wait a minute…which war? Since you don’t include Iraq as part of a larger conflict, are you talking about Iraq or about any American military force at all?”
His new book, “World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism”, really nails it. He rightly lists the acts of war Islamic terrorists have committed against the United States for over 30 years now. Failing to respond to them was the fault of every Administration back to Nixon – both sides were negligent.
Over 100,000 Americans died fighting in Korea and Vietnam – in response to Communist aggression. Those brave souls broke the back of the Soviet and Chinese war machines. Yet they (the Vietnam Veterans in particular) were disgraced by many at home, spat upon and called baby killers and murderers of civilians. Sound familiar? Not to downplay their sacrifices AT ALL, but 3,000 have been lost in Iraq during the past 4.5 years. That is a tremendously low number considering the constant attack they are under. Yet the calls of “How many more must die?” still pour out of the mouths of idiots, just like the Vietnam era. We were not allowed to win then, we MUST win now, there is no choice.
Those who believe Iraq is “Bush’s War” – other than being intellectually insulting – are just ignorant of history. As John McCain wisely says, “Presidents don’t lose wars, political parties don't lose wars, NATIONS lose wars and NATIONS have the consequences of failure. We must succeed in this conflict."
Truman Doctrine 1947 – “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure...The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.”
Kennedy Doctrine 1961 – “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Bush Doctrine 2001 – “If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long…the war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act.”
Other than pre-emption, America’s foreign policy has been unchanged since the 1940s. Isolationism is DEAD. And rightly so. Ron Paul and his ilk and supporters are quite simply deaf, dumb and blind. Iraq is a theater in a larger war just as Vietnam was. We have committed ourselves, and it is a Just cause. Unlike Vietnam, we cannot afford to retreat. As we have seen time and again, retreat and non-action only embolden those who would slaughter our innocents.
Let us all heed the words of President Kennedy from 1962 and Winston Churchill from 1941:
“The 1930's taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word.”
“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”