In addition to repealing the catastrophic Obamacare health care plan, one of President Donald Trump’s absolute top priorities must be to resist the military industrial complex and put an immediate end to the carnage and destruction our nation has been spreading all over the Middle East under the guise of saving the local people from their leaders and civil unrest. For the past 50 years and more—from Vietnam to the Middle East—our involvement has produced no benefits whatsoever. The result has been nothing but trouble—bloodshed, maiming, mass murder, and the utter wasting of trillions of tax dollars. It has made the United States the most hated nation in the World. Our actions in many ways were comparable to the atrocities of the Nazis.
Take Vietnam for example. From our politicians’ claims, our presence was to prevent the spread of communism into the southern part of the country. What did we accomplish? Absolutely nothing—except carnage and widespread destruction. Finally after massive public protest, President Richard Nixon decided to withdraw in 1973. Technically, we “lost” the war. But that was a far better decision than to continue the bombing, shooting, and spraying of Agent Orange until the entire country was blasted, poisoned and burned to a crisp.
During the subsequent years, Vietnam has done a decent job of rebuilding itself. And over these same years, the Vietnamese have managed to heal their hostilities toward the Americans. As long as we mind our own business and do no more meddling, good relations in the future should be successful.
In the Middle East, the beginning of our involvement seemed innocent enough. President Ronald Reagan and certain officials in the Pentagon decided it would be a good idea to help the Mujahadeen tribes in Afghanistan fight off the Russians. They were awarded substantial numbers of high-tech weapons, including Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft. At first, it seemed like a good idea, but the local Muslim people didn’t like outsiders interfering. “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you” is an idea that Middle Easterners (and many others) detest. The American brass, somehow, was unable to comprehend it and kept pressing on.
It wasn’t long before these same weapons were being used against Americans and other foreigners in the region.
Wars began erupting all over the Middle East. Iraq invaded Kuwait. Thousands of American troops were sent over—first Desert Shield and then Desert Storm. Oil wells were bombed and set ablaze. The most massive oil spill in history poisoned the Persian Gulf. Our involvement was hated by almost everybody in the region.
The Middle Easterners retaliated. They bombed American establishments in other parts of the World, including a huge truck bomb in one of the World Trade Center towers in New York. A few years later came the horrors of 9/11. While the towers burned and fell, crowds on New Jersey’s north shore and around the world were seen celebrating and yelling, “Death to America, death to the Great Satan.” Unlike the gentler people in Vietnam, most people in the Muslim world will not tolerate outsiders messing with them. If they try it, extreme vindictiveness can be expected. And that’s exactly what they did.
President George W. Bush felt an irresistible urge for revenge of his own. After a couple of years of planning and accusing Iraq of possessing “weapons of mass destruction,” he launched an invasion and bombing of Iraq in 2003 and later had Saddam Hussein Hanged (assassinated). (Imagine another nation doing that to us).
The result was the devastation of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and an equal or greater number were horribly maimed. Homes and infrastructure were wiped off the map. Fires burned. People cried. Civil unrest exploded. Looters sacked every place they could find valuables. They even raided the museums, stealing and destroying priceless historical treasures.
Under Barack Obama’s eight years of folly and his utterly undeserved Nobel “Peace” Prize, the wars and destruction have continued unabated. New anti-American extremist groups (ISIS for example) have arisen and exacerbated the carnage and terror. We still have thousands of troops in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and other places.
At home and abroad, our government must learn one very important lesson: Don’t butt in. Don’t try to “help.” Don’t meddle. Don’t be the world’s bully.
President Trump must understand that we cannot “save” the Middle East. They have their own sets of morals and values. Leave them alone. Get our troops out ASAP. “Close the door, and let death pass us by.” That will be a good first step in getting them to leave us alone.
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