Jim Morin for July 06, 2014

Never should have taken it in the first place. We just sell weapons to them all.

Why have good Americans died in Iraq? Why are they dying for Afghanistan? It has been long over due for the rest of the world to stop relying on us and start helping themselves.

As “policemen” we go to a country and be targets, while trying to teach people who don’t want to play nicely with each other how to play nicely with each other. Meanwhile we funnel tens of billions of dollars to military contractors, who in turn donate a part of that back to the politicians who made it all possible in the first place.

That was never our job in the first place. The only reason we’re in constant war is to supply the military contractors with endless streams of money.

(Son, belligerent, jingoistic, and incoherent is no way to go through life!)

The US generally succeeds in uniting warring factions against it for as long as it’s over there. Once we come home, they go back to killing each other. Whatever happens, it’s sure to be our fault if we do or don’t do anything.

I hope Obama is smart enough to get us out of the entire Middle East . We didn’t “break it in the first place”, as many of those who advocate American participation claim. Middle Eastern society has been broken for longer than the United States has existed. In the history of that region, peace has been a rare situation, always imposed by a government strong enough to prevent people who would otherwise be shooting (or throwing spears at) each other from doing so. It can’t be any different when the majority of people would shoot each other over religious differences that would be considered trivial by anyone who had any education that involved more than one book. And, those who are uneducated are convenient tools to gain power for those few who are not, which provides encouragement to keep them uneducated.But the saying " the enemy of my enemy is my friend" does not apply in this case. Each side is our enemy. We are “infidels”, making us more “killable” to each side than the other side and going over there to interfere is of no value to the American people. We need to simply stand back, allow them to manage their affairs however they would if we didn’t exist, and maybe in a few hundred years they will work it out. Once they realize that we have lost interest in them, perhaps they will return the favor and ignore us too. Killing each other is a more immediate goal.In those cases where we can infuse some actual education into the mix, that probably would be helpful— which is why they hate teachers more than soldiers. But military interference from America accomplishes nothing except creating hatred for our country, and leaving tanks, guns and bullets where they can be used to prolong the fighting. Granted, mutual hatred for America could bring the two sides together sooner than might otherwise be the case, to attack us, but that doesn’t seem to me to be a desirable outcome. Ultimately, each country belongs to the citizens of that country, and until they fix it themselves, it ain’t fixed.

A perpetual state of war is good for the economy. Look what happened when we geared up for WW2. Also it keeps the population down. There you go — two benefits for the price of one!

Since you’re posting Klaven, I thought I should just mention that (a) I’m as left as anyone who posts here, and (b) I support the right of Israel to exist in peace within secure borders. That doesn’t mean that I support all Israeli policy. The left should be able to support the rights of Palestinians without becoming anti-Israel. I don’t support the BDS movement. I do support a two-state solution.

I’m not saying that it’s likely, but it’s better than any alternative I can see. I don’t expect to see peace in the mid-East in my lifetime. My support for Israel has nothing to do with scripture — I have no religion and I don’t hold with any scripture. (in fact I’m not so much in favor of states at all, being as I’m a sort of anarchist.) But Israel doesn’t need any more justification than any other state needs. But again I will say, none of this means that I support everything the state of Israel does. And I do support the right of Palestinians to have a state. I really don’t want to take sides here. I want to be on the side of people, rather than states. I would like to see a situation where everyone in the region could live as they wish with their own traditions and heritage. I know that I’m a dreamer.

The problem is that you guys call every thing you don’t like “socialism.” Intervening in foreign wars may be a bad idea, but it’s not “socialism.” Call is “Dubyaism” or “Cheneyism.”

President Obama “cut and run” by observing the terms of the agreement that Shrub hisowndumbself negotiated. The President had no power to ignore such an agreement.

Ike warned of the MIC. The general in charge of the failed F-22 stated about that failed, way over-priced, project, “If we didn’t intend to use them, we wouldn’t buy them.”

We need to reduce our military war fighting inventory, and spending, to indeed focus on self-dfense, not world dominance. Armies dominate, police only “protect and serve” if properly functioning.

Obama just followed international law, and the treaty/agreement BUSH SIGNED to GET OUT in 2011! Yes, that “died in vain” line does apply, and is “W” and “Cheney’s” epitaphs, period

Tigger: btw, give it up, if REPUBLICANS had called Bush and Cheney on their lies, the Dems who did NOT VOTE TO INVADE, would have been joined by the right in a common sense “bipartisan” decision, but , nope, the bonehead brigade just kept pumping up all the lies, that were CLEARLY exposed, in 2002!

I think it’s a good time to retire. We have much to resolve here, at home.

Harley, the Israelis forcibly evict Palestinians from entire towns, destroy said towns, then build their own settlements on top.

My point is that being forcibly evicted from an entire town to make way for Israeli settlements just might qualify as institutionalized discrimination you claimed isn’t happening.Yes, radical Muslims fire rockets into Israel and civilians die. Israel retaliates and civilians die. Muslims retaliate and civilians die. Israel retaliates and….. It’s a circle of violence that neither side is willing to end.The latest was Muslim extremists killing Israeli teens. Israel extremists retaliated by kidnapping a Muslim teen and burning him ALIVE.

“It is the radical Muslims who make it the reason ‘entire towns’ who were not to be there in the 1st place to be moved!”No. The fact that Israel wants to settle the West Bank is the reason they have forcibly evict entire Muslim towns and build over them. Back when Clinton was President, the Israelis and Palestinians were making good progress towards a “permanent” ceasefire. The sticking point was continued forced evictions to make way for Israeli settlements. Israel stopped the peace process because they refused to stop the settlements.Israeli doesn’t have to be “perfect”. They just have to be willing to stop the cycle of violence. They’re not any more willing than the radical Muslims.