But the worst aspect of [the Obama] administration's national security policy is its clear intention to do nothing that has any realistic chance of stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons. This may be the most grossly irresponsible policy in all of history, because it can leave this generation — and future generations — at the mercy of terrorists who have no mercy and who cannot be deterred, as the Soviet Union was deterred.It mattered a great deal to American citizens in the '40s that FDR and his Democrat Congress had failed in their most basic duty -- to assess and act on the dangers the country faced. Americans paid dearly for that failure.
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. . . [General Douglas] MacArthur had reasons to have contempt for politicians, going all the way back to FDR, who cut the army's budget in the 1930s, while Nazi Germany and imperial Japan were building up huge military machines that would kill many an American before it was all over.
As Prof. Sowell notes, we will pay dearly for Obama's and the Dems' stupidity and weakness where Iran is concerned. Bush failed here too. When he sent the troops to Iraq the Iranians were quaking in their boots that they were next, but he failed to press his advantage. Instead we had the surreal inquiry into Niger yellow cake and Valerie Plame's status as a long-since-sidelined clandestine operator -- and the elephant in the room was Iran with a known nuclear weapon development program. Iraq never became the aircraft carrier from which we could launch an attack on Iran.
Yes, military action is what is required. Either take action now when the cost is relatively low (but not as low as back then), or later when the cost will be very high indeed. Talk and sanctions are for fools at this juncture. Anyway, Obama isn't serious about sanctions. If he were, he'd go after Iranian gasoline imports and, shortly after that proved ineffective, Iran's refineries. Minimum.
The only radioactive substance the mullahs should ever control is Chinese wristwatches with radium dials.
"Will We Prevail If Led Only By Politically Hip?" By Thomas Sowell, Investor's Business Daily, 6/24/10.
2 comments:
MacArthur wanted to nuke the border between N Korea and China to prevent Chinese entry into the Korean war. Sadly, he was not listened to and we paid dearly in American lives back then and now we have to worry about NK's current madman with nuclear weapons.
Thanks. I wasn't aware that McArthur specifically had nuclear weapons in mind. There was certainly a lot of conventional punch available but I remember that it was not good for the Air Force in Korea until the Sabre came on line. I suspect that the problem was the one you identify -- the lack of political will and the timorous desire to apply "just a little" combat power to the resolution of our difficulties. I read that Ike secretly threatened the Chinese with a nuclear strike(s) to force the (unsatisfactory) resolution that came about.
We've paid dearly for half measures, as you say. I'm working on a post about limited war so kindly catch that in the near future.
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