Appeasement Is Not the Answer

The war on terror has been waged in large part on fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last summer we saw Isreal and Lebanon exchange blows. Spain & England have seen train stations blown-up. Southeast Asia remains a hot spot for bombings. Is there no end?

I am among those who believe the US execution of this war took several wrong turns. Nation building is noble, and policing warring factions has been a US role in many worldwide conflicts. But removal of clearly defined objectives has created a quagmire. Now we are looking at a "peace with honor" approach.

The AP report, Panel to call for U.S. pullback tells of the shift in US policy:

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan commission next week will unveil long-awaited
recommendations for a new U.S. policy in Iraq that a published report said would
call for a gradual pullback of U.S. troops there — without a timetable — and
direct diplomacy with Iran and Syria.

This scenario is crazy. Did we contact Soviet leaders to ask for help in Poland? Did we call Hitler to say, "We smell the smoke and some folks are missing, but can you help us straighten this out?"

With so much pressure to pull out of Iraq, the terrorists are sure to use every means available to weaken US resolve. Another AP report, Bush agrees to speedy turnover in Iraq, shows the Bush administration offering appeasement to Congress and the terrorists:

AMMAN, Jordan - President Bush said Thursday the United States will speed a
turnover of security responsibility to Iraqi forces but assured Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki that Washington is not looking for a "graceful exit" from a war
well into its fourth violent year.

I believe US military is better used when definitive objectives are defined. Since we have none, a pull-back and re-evaluation may be the best thing to do. Recall Bush's press conference on Spetember 20, 2001. He said that terrorists would be hunted down and pushed from one place to another until they were rooted out. Any nation harboring or providing assistance would be considered a hostile regime. He clearly issued a "With me or against me" warning. An utter failure to exercize the full might, wealth and resolve of the US and its citizens has now placed us in a tenuous & dangerous position of weakness.

My fears now revolve around weak-kneed appeasers who will open the floodgates, try to reason with stated enemies and hasten another major attack on US soil. I predict a major war is coming, one that could be avoided. Peace through strength has worked time and again, but losing nerve only beckons the schoolyard bully.