The cost of defeat

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

The fact that most Democrats are not involved in discussions of victory is telling and problematic. They do run both Houses of Congress and initial actions lead me to believe they are not interested in any type of victory. They wish to drive a stake through our imperial aggression and ensure we are unable to use our power pursuing oil or any other treasure. That is decidedly unhelpful during a time when there is a lot of ugliness going on and we are the one entity capable of projecting a credible military presence anywhere in the world. That is really the greatest reason we cannot afford to lose, there is no one else capable of responding to threats and taking the final step on the path of diplomacy, military force.

Our ongoing efforts in Iraq have hardly been successful, but the prevailing view that they are a debacle and that those responsible were outrageously, perhaps criminally incompetent is more emotion and politics than reality. By what standard is it judged thusly, do we have a benchmark for the democratization of an Arab, Muslim country ruled tyrannically for decades by a barbaric member of a religious minority, then freed by an invasion of infidels whose first idea was to let the people of the country vote? I kinda doubt it and I think a goodly bit of the doomsaying stems from a lack of understanding of the complexity of military and nation-building operations coupled with our on demand mentality. We want what we want,when we want, and that's now. Expectations were never set for a worst, or even less than best case scenario and the lack of decisive success has made the relentless drumbeat of doom coming from the media the face of the war.

The reasons we went to war in Iraq have almost no bearing on what we should do now and next. They should certainly impact our decision-making as we look at other dangers. But when I discuss what we should do in Iraq, I look at the damage a defeat would do to our deterrence effect on bad actors worldwide. If they are reasonably certain that we cannot act against them, they are much more likely to act badly. Decisions about what to do in Iraq should have a focus on how we can win, but the left is united in demanding defeat. Much of this stems from their fixation on the justifications (read lies) for invading. The entire premise was flawed, and they really do believe that every life was wasted. They cannot fathom the idea of victory flowering in such poisoned soil. In addition many wish to severely restrict our ability to wage expeditionary warfare. This stems from the mistaken notion that this would force us to focus more on diplomacy which would suddenly become brilliantly successful.

I do not think that the opposition is disloyal or not patriotic, but we do have fundamental disagreements about what America's role should be. I feel that as the only superpower we have an obligation to sheriff the world, not police it because that has a different implication. Sheriffing is more a neighborhood thing, and for America the world is our neighborhood. Deputies are added as events warrant, but basically the able-bodied are expected to provide for common defense. In the world today we are about the only fully able body and it would be a net loss for the body of nations to lose that. If the Democrats prevail and have us withdraw from Iraq in defeat, ceding a battlefield to victorious Al Qaeda and Iran, our deterrent power will be lost. For many on the left that is a good thing, for anyone with a boot on their neck around the world it is a serious loss.

The outcome of our efforts in Iraq will determine the security posture of the whole world. If we have lost, we will effectively withdraw from the world stage and leave it empty of great actors. Regional powers, like Iran will be able to act knowing we will not take military action against them. For a group that prizes diplomacy and multi-lateral jaw-flapping, the left effectively emasculates those efforts by removing force from the continuum. The only alternative is victory, and no matter the efforts to undermine that we must overcome them.

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Comments

The cost of defeat

The fact that most Democrats are not involved in discussions of victory is telling and problematic. They do run both Houses of Congress and initial actions lead me to believe they are not interested in any type of victory. They wish to drive a stake through our imperial aggression and ensure we are unable to use our power pursuing oil or any other treasure. That is decidedly unhelpful during a time when there is a lot of ugliness going on and we are the one entity capable of projecting a credible military presence anywhere in the world. That is really the greatest reason we cannot afford to lose, there is no one else capable of responding to threats and taking the final step on the path of diplomacy, military force.

Our ongoing efforts in Iraq have hardly been successful, but the prevailing view that they are a debacle and that those responsible were outrageously, perhaps criminally incompetent is more emotion and politics than reality. By what standard is it judged thusly, do we have a benchmark for the democratization of an Arab, Muslim country ruled tyrannically for decades by a barbaric member of a religious minority, then freed by an invasion of infidels whose first idea was to let the people of the country vote? I kinda doubt it and I think a goodly bit of the doomsaying stems from a lack of understanding of the complexity of military and nation-building operations coupled with our on demand mentality. We want what we want,when we want, and that's now. Expectations were never set for a worst, or even less than best case scenario and the lack of decisive success has made the relentless drumbeat of doom coming from the media the face of the war.

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