[From article]
"Once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end.
"War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision."
So said Gen. MacArthur in some of the wisest counsel the old soldier ever gave his countrymen.
Yet, "prolonged indecision" would seem the essence of the war the president has begun to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State.
For, following only one night of bombing in Syria, Gen. Bill Mayville, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs, asked to estimate how long this new war would last, replied: "I would think of it in terms of years."
[. . .]
While, undeniably, the Islamic State has shown itself beyond the pale with its beheading of innocents and its massacres of soldiers who have surrendered, let us not forget that our allies abetted these monsters, while adversaries we have designated as terrorists and state sponsors of terror were fighting them.Lord Palmerston had a point when he said Great Britain has no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
Those interests should determine our policy.
While, undeniably, the Islamic State has shown itself beyond the pale with its beheading of innocents and its massacres of soldiers who have surrendered, let us not forget that our allies abetted these monsters, while adversaries we have designated as terrorists and state sponsors of terror were fighting them.
Lord Palmerston had a point when he said Great Britain has no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
Those interests should determine our policy.
A Basket of Snakes
By Patrick J. Buchanan
Friday - September 26, 2014
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