12 January 2007
10:05 AM
In my previous posting I allowed myself to make an error that Democrats have made when talking about the Iraqi theater of the War on Terror.
Democrats like to talk of a ‘political’ solution as opposed to a ‘military’ solution. In fact, they see disjunction where none exists. There is no warfare apart from ‘political’ ends. War is waged to achieve ‘political’ ends, to solve ‘political’ problems. The battle in the Iraqi theater is being waged precisely for ‘political’ ends: the survival of a newly-birthed, democratically elected government. The terrorist-motivated-and-led insurgents have as their ‘political’ objective the overthrow of that government; that’s the purpose of their war.
It is not, as Democrats suggest, that we ought to decide between a ‘political’ solution and a ‘military’ solution. The decision is whether – and how effectively – the military may best be employed in the pursuit of our ‘political’ objectives. And our political objective in Iraq is the survival of a government which will not harbor or spawn terrorists.
What I said in my previous posting was that, “The only ‘political’ solution involves giving the terrorist-motivated insurgency what it wants. And they have made more than abundantly clear that those are the only terms under which they will cease using their weapons.”
What I should have said was, “The only ‘political’ solution which does not involve using military force to achieve it must involve giving the terrorist-motivated insurgency what they want. And they have made it abundantly clear that those are the only terms under which they will cease using their weapons.”
And, like I said, those terms remain unacceptable. And not just for us: having removed one totalitarian, terrorist-supporting regime (admittedly, because it was in our national interest to do so) we ought not to leave the Iraqis to the ‘mercy’ of another totalitarian, terrorist-supporting regime.
Also in my previous posting I alluded to General Patton and commented that the allusion wasn’t very helpful in the present conflict. However, he did write to his son something that is useful in the present conflict: "To be a successful soldier you must know history. Read it objectively. . . . What you must know is how man reacts. Weapons change, but the men who use them change not at all" (in Edgar F. Puryear, Jr., American Generalship: Character is Everything: The Art of Command, 158-59, emphasis added).
With respect to the present conflict, the Democrats’ greatest error is not ethical; it’s philosophical. They are Marxist in perspective (that’s intended as a statement of fact, not as an insult). As a consequence they believe that the men who use weapons do change, or can be changed. Their 'political' solution is an attempt to change the men who use the weapon of terror. Their's is a fool's errand.
Democrats like to talk of a ‘political’ solution as opposed to a ‘military’ solution. In fact, they see disjunction where none exists. There is no warfare apart from ‘political’ ends. War is waged to achieve ‘political’ ends, to solve ‘political’ problems. The battle in the Iraqi theater is being waged precisely for ‘political’ ends: the survival of a newly-birthed, democratically elected government. The terrorist-motivated-and-led insurgents have as their ‘political’ objective the overthrow of that government; that’s the purpose of their war.
It is not, as Democrats suggest, that we ought to decide between a ‘political’ solution and a ‘military’ solution. The decision is whether – and how effectively – the military may best be employed in the pursuit of our ‘political’ objectives. And our political objective in Iraq is the survival of a government which will not harbor or spawn terrorists.
What I said in my previous posting was that, “The only ‘political’ solution involves giving the terrorist-motivated insurgency what it wants. And they have made more than abundantly clear that those are the only terms under which they will cease using their weapons.”
What I should have said was, “The only ‘political’ solution which does not involve using military force to achieve it must involve giving the terrorist-motivated insurgency what they want. And they have made it abundantly clear that those are the only terms under which they will cease using their weapons.”
And, like I said, those terms remain unacceptable. And not just for us: having removed one totalitarian, terrorist-supporting regime (admittedly, because it was in our national interest to do so) we ought not to leave the Iraqis to the ‘mercy’ of another totalitarian, terrorist-supporting regime.
Also in my previous posting I alluded to General Patton and commented that the allusion wasn’t very helpful in the present conflict. However, he did write to his son something that is useful in the present conflict: "To be a successful soldier you must know history. Read it objectively. . . . What you must know is how man reacts. Weapons change, but the men who use them change not at all" (in Edgar F. Puryear, Jr., American Generalship: Character is Everything: The Art of Command, 158-59, emphasis added).
With respect to the present conflict, the Democrats’ greatest error is not ethical; it’s philosophical. They are Marxist in perspective (that’s intended as a statement of fact, not as an insult). As a consequence they believe that the men who use weapons do change, or can be changed. Their 'political' solution is an attempt to change the men who use the weapon of terror. Their's is a fool's errand.
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About Me
- James Frank Solís
- Former soldier (USA). Graduate-level educated. Married 26 years. Texas ex-patriate. Ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
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