Why use the military to do a policeman's job?

If our National Security goal is to prevent future terrorist attacks, we should be doing more international police work. Sending our military to invade and occupy a middle-Eastern country is fomenting unrest and, according to our own government reports, is actually creating more terrorists.

Modern Superpowers are 0 and 4 in winning wars fought against insurgencies. Russia had Afghanistan and Chechnya; the US had Vietnam and now Iraq. France was defeated in Algeria and Vietnam; England was defeated here in America. The ability of a country to invade, occupy and rule a distant foreign county requires far more resources and willpower than those who see themselves as defending their homeland. In every case where the invading country has escalated military actions, local insurgency has increased strength and determination. When asked why he used so much heavy artillery against a small village, a US Army officer in Vietnam said, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” This creates lifelong enemies, not friends.

Oil has always been at the heart of our efforts in Iraq. The fine print in the “Benchmark” oil revenue agreement we’re pushing on the Iraqi Parliament is really about awarding 30-year contracts to American and British petroleum company to exploit their natural resources, at terms advantageous to us – at the expense of the Iraqis.

That Iraq is facing even more chaos and death if we leave doesn’t mean we shouldn’t leave. We caused the collapse of their government and do not have the ability to put it back together. Iraq is a mess – one that we created. It was better with Saddam in power, even for the Iraqis.

Bush will have to carry that guilt with him into history. The Iraqis will have to put their own country back in order. The result will not be pro-American. Bring our troops home now!

Jon Monday