by Andrew Price
Daily Lobo columnist
We have just lost soldier No. 2,000 in Iraq.
Although invading Iraq and Afghanistan and trying to give the people of those countries democracy and freedom was absolutely the right thing to do, we never should have done it. The war in Iraq in particular and the war on terrorism as a whole has become a lost cause. Osama bin Laden was correct when he called America a "paper lion" that can't maintain focus and will not abide casualties.
Public opinion in the United States is reminiscent of an elementary school playground in that it sways drastically from moment to moment with no rhyme or reason. Outrageous mantras are repeated ad nauseam until accepted as fact. Ignorant people take complex problems and try to apply simplistic solutions.
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We in America, where it is taboo for an 8-year-old to hit another 8-year-old, cannot imagine that there are people and cultures in this world that will kill out of hatred, jealousy, greed, religion or just plain boredom. Americans believe there must be some offense committed by us that, if resolved, will dissuade aggression against us. I wish that all this were true, but it isn't. Study Neville Chamberlain and his dealings with Adolf Hitler.
During the Second Punic War, which was mutually declared by the Roman Senate and the Carthaginian Council, Hannibal crossed the Alps with 100,000 men. During that crossing, Hannibal suffered 70,000 casualties and considered it a success. Once on Italian soil he proceeded south toward Rome, slaughtering several Roman Legions, burning crops and plundering villages along the way. Back in Carthage, the political climate changed - they feared the power that a triumphant Hannibal would have, and they had no stomach for the casualties. As a result, they refused to send him reinforcements and he failed to conquer Rome. This was a major turning point in the history of the world that quite probably would have reversed the roles of Europe and Africa over the last several thousand years.
The current conflicts in the Middle East have the potential to have the same magnitude of ramifications. We won't be around to see it through to the end. We are destined to cut and run. Americans are not willing to lose our children for a cause that is not directly tangible in our everyday lives.
The cry is beginning to sound for an exit strategy. An exit strategy to a liberal is a date and a time. President Bush did lay out an exit strategy when we went into this war. His exit strategy was to leave when the people of those countries had civil rights and the ability to defend themselves. This is a lost cause, because America is not responsible enough to see this mission through to the end.
When the liberals force us to pull out of Iraq, a bloodbath will ensue. We cannot afford to sufficiently arm the people who want democracy for fear that radical factions will use the weaponry against us.
When we pull out, all those who stood up and voted will die. America will be seen as weak and the terrorist attacks will intensify against us. Nobody wants war, but until true civilization is universal throughout the world, it is inevitable.
The liberals of today are like the Carthaginian council of old in that they are using the military failure of a rival, which they caused, to give them a political victory. This didn't work out so well for Carthage, and I hope history doesn't repeat itself. Giving the liberals of today power over foreign policy is the equivalent of giving a 13-year-old boy a six-pack of beer and the keys to your car.
The good news is that we in America show a profound respect for the value of human life that was absent in ancient times. We truly care about the 2,000 soldiers who have died. We are clumsily lurching toward being truly civilized. The question is, can we achieve an enlightened civilization in a vacuum tucked cozily within our own borders? Will this drive forward be thwarted if we leave primitive and barbaric cultures behind?
Will America - in the interest of political correctness and global harmony - subjugate itself and blend into a worldwide government dominated by an elite class with the people of America having no say over our own destiny? Average people who call themselves liberals will think I'm crazy for such wild predictions of impending doom, but nations such as ours have in the past disappeared following lack of focus and irresponsible acts such as these.
