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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

What Did Our Wars Win?

"He ended one war and kept us out of any other," is the tribute paid President Eisenhower.

Ike ended the Korean conflict in 1953, refused to intervene to save the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and, rather than back the British-French-Israeli invasion, ordered them all out of Egypt in 1956.

Ending America's longest wars may prove to be Barack Obama's legacy.

For, while ending wars without victory may not garner from the historians' the accolade of "great" or "near great," it is sometimes the duty of a president who has inherited a war the nation no longer wishes to fight.

That was Nixon's fate, as well as Ike's, and Obama's.

And as we look back at our interventions in the 21st century, where are the gains of all our fighting, bleeding and dying?

We know the costs — 8,000 dead, 40,000 wounded, $2 trillion in wealth sunk. But where are the benefits? 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

A question better asked of he who started them.

Anonymous said...

4:18 couldn't have said it better.

Anonymous said...

Obama hasn't ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We're still there, and there's too much money to be made to leave. Heck...not only do the arms makers get paid, the contractors funnel billions of unaccounted for dollars. And since we took over Afghanistan, it's now putting out 90% of the world's opium. Now we're trying to take over Syria for a pipeline between Qatar and Turkey to get natural gas to Europe.

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. If we are making all this money on wars why are we so broke?

JoeAlbero said...

WE are not making money. It's major companies that are MAKING trillions of dollars. One only has to look at former Vice President Cheney and his connections to see what I'm talking about.

Bullard Construction said...

We need to get out of the war for money business. This does nothing but generate more terrorists, which serves to propagate more wars. It is inherently wrong.

JoeAlbero said...

Unfortunately Gary, we can no longer get out of these wars. It would financially destroy America. Unemployment would be 70% and I'm not kidding. It's all we have left and it pays better than anything else out there while Obama keeps printing money.

Bullard Construction said...

I know you are right, Joe, and it makes me sick to think about it. But that still doesn't negate the fact that fact that these wars are ignorant efforts that do not have any goal whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

Could'nt the wars be replaced with rebuilding our own country? Manufacturing adjustments could be made to produce equipment and supplies to rebuild huge areas destroyed by tornadoes and wildfires.If our troops were given the option of remaining overseas or returning for the purpose of fixing US,my guess is they'd choose us.The financial gap caused by absence of war would be filled.

Anonymous said...

Oh! How about the life long cost for injuries to our veterans due this war.

Anonymous said...

10:52-And infrastructure work such as bridges and highways.Plenty to do right here.