Saturday, July 14, 2007

Why Anti-War Democrats are so wrong!

It makes me sick to my stomach to listen to the sheer politicization of the WAR ON TERROR (all caps for John Edwards). It happens on both sides of the aisle. Republicans spin the war into something it's not (strictly against al-Qaeda, saying its not about the oil) and Democrats deny the existence of an enemy (no such thing as a War on Terror and that radical Jihadists will not follow us home from Iraq). So it is difficult to get a clear picture as to what is going on. It is even more difficult when you have a President that is "plain spoken" and is trying and failing to explain a very difficult and complex situation, that situation being the very real, very present Global War on Terror.

So let me see if I can pick up where the Prez left off...

1. It is about oil. Oil is quite literally the second air you and I breath. Imagine what life would be like without it. How do you receive almost every item you have in your possession? At one time or another it was transported by oil. Either by car, truck or ship. How do you get to work? Oil. How did the newspaper you are reading get to you? Oil. How do your children get to school? Oil. How did I get the computer I am typing this on? Oil. We can manage about 50% of our oil here in the US, the rest must come from somewhere else. Again, oil is the life blood of our economy and as such it is very much a national security issue.

2. Since oil is a national security issue and we are not in a realistic position to cut significantly and appreciably our dependence we must do business with the Middle East and other unsavory characters like Hugo Chavez.

3. Like Hugo Chavez, Vadimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -Osama Bin Laden and other Radical Jihadists have worked to exploit our dependence. Not all for the exact same reasons. Al-Qaeda and Co. have exploited every ugly thing we have ever done in the Middle East in the name of oil/national security. Every dictator propped up, every secret back room arm twisting, every dollar sent to Israel has been twisted into a propaganda campaign against the West and the United States. The welfare states of the Middle East are all too easy a target. Victim-hood has been ingrained into the collective consciousness. Leaders of all kinds that have failed their people time and again are all too happy to blame the West and the US for local ills. So when Bin Laden and Co. come along with their message of hate disguised as a religious jihadi obligation (ie. a collective language the entire Arab and Muslim community can understand) this welfare victim society is primed and ready to listen and to act.

4. So why Iraq? Easy, it was ripe for regime change. It was the lowest fruit in the Middle East. Nobody liked Saddam. No one thought he was good for Iraq or the region (expect maybe the French). Weapons of Mass Distraction... excuse me, Destruction were merely a political spin move by the Bush Administration to get as many people as possible on board. Bush Co. and the world intelligence apparatus sincerely thought Saddam had some kind of program and in the strictest sense he did. But the world was warned of "mushroom clouds" not bare bones programs barely hanging on after years of sanctions and UN inspections. A good analogy would be if we invaded Iraq to keep them from having an NFL team and come to find out they had only had PeeWee football. Football none the less but not NFL.

What many can't or won't understand is that a lack of WMD does not lesson the need to go into Iraq (the Middle East) or the real reason, oil. Even without WMD the West and the US still need oil. And securing that region from tyrants and terrorists is the only way to protect our current and future way off life for the foreseeable future. Alternative fuels and conservation measures are not going to be here quick enough. For the short term, 10-20 years, we will need oil and lots of it.

5. Why stay in Iraq? Because we owe the people of Iraq our sincere and best effort at a democratic country. The people of Iraq also owe it to themselves. I am very disheartened by the lack of urgency shown by Iraqi leaders and by the complete upper class evacuation of Iraq. Most doctors, engineers, lawyers and everyone with enough skills and disposable income have bugged-out of Iraq. It would be hard not to. You want to protect your family. But you must also do the hard and dangerous work of building your country. What would have happened to the US if we ran from the British or the Japanese? Eventually you stand and fight.

We also must continue the hard work of trying to secure that region. Iraq will become a worse destabilizing force than it was with Saddam if we leave. It will make the Arab - Israeli situation look like a cake walk if we leave. Imagine a Gaza strip the size of California!

6. Every bit we help the Palestinians and the Lebanese helps us in Iraq and every bit we marginalize Syria and Iran helps us in Iraq. We need to put Israel on a short leash. Every stride we take in a democratic and working Palestine is a stab in the eye of al-Qaeda. Every stride we take in a democratic and working Lebanon is a stab in the eye of Iran and Syria. The plan for secure oil is comprehensive. It is not success in Iraq only. In fact, we won't see success in Iraq if we do not address the needs of Lebanon and Palestine.

So what can you do? Well, number one you can stop voting for Democrats. How anyone can listen to what Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, John Murtha and Nancy Pelosi say on the floors of Congress and vote in that direction is beyond me. What kind of bias are you having to confirm in order to justify that move? I can see protecting your own pocket book by voting Dem in local elections but on the national front the stakes are too high! Hold on Republicans... your not off the hook either. Just because the President has done a horrible job of explaining the war, the stakes and the need for oil that doesn't mean Repubs of all shapes and sizes get a pass. This is a national security issue and as the "Security" party it is our job to shape the debate in a way that is honest and understandable even if the President is not.

Finally, we owe it to the Troops and the families of those who serve. We owe them our support to finish the job started. We owe them ever ounce of support for our and their mission in Iraq. You CAN NOT support the troops and NOT support the mission, you must do both. If you don't believe me ask a Soldier or Marine or any service person "down range".