|
CSC Family,
Today is the 18th anniversary of 9/11 and as we remember that terrible day, we should also look at what we learned from the deaths of so many of our fellow Americans and apply the “lessons” of 9/11 to our current foreign policy problems. I talked about this on my radio show on Monday because it is very relevant and then yesterday, we learned that National Security Advisor John Bolton either resigned or was fired mainly because he and the President did not see eye to eye on a variety of security issues.
So, without taking sides on the inside baseball “did he resign or was he fired” it is possible to say convincingly that we still have to deal with a ‘shark infested’ world and just as was the case before 9/11,so too, today we have to take into account the threats that we are facing and evaluate them from a ‘lessons learned’ perspective.
Here are some thoughts on this ongoing question related to foreign policy:
- Lesson # 1: Do something about serious threats before they become even worse threats. Bill Clinton’s counter terrorism guru, Richard Clarke, by 1995 was warning Clinton that Al Qaeda was an “existential threat”—it was only after the 1998 African Embassy bombings that Clinton took any military steps against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Even after the U.S.S. Cole was almost sunk by an Al Qaeda attack in October of 2000, Clinton did not retaliate with real force and the rest is history.
***Iran today chants “Death to America and Israel” every Friday during prayers—fortunately we understand the threat and are doing what is necessary to deal with them:LESSON LEARNED!
- Lesson # 2: Political leaders have to step up to the plate when necessary. Clinton did not. Bush did after 9/11 and despite the issues surrounding Iraq, when the chips were down and critics were calling for retreat, Bush doubled down by "Surging” more troops into the fight ensuring that all the sacrifices made by our troops would not be wasted. Nixon did the same thing in 1972 after Hanoi launched a massive conventional attack against South Vietnam. Nixon’s advisors all said we have done enough, it’s Saigon’s problem. Note this—politically, Nixon’s advisors were fearful that in an election year, Nixon could imperil his reelection chances. Nixon said, “These communist bastards are not going to win!” Nixon then unleashed American air power, sent more military advisors to coordinate our support to the South’s forces, mined Haiphong harbor, and diplomatically maneuvered to isolate Hanoi from its Soviet allies. Nixon was able to defeat Hanoi in 1972 and won a landslide reelection. The tragedy for us and South Vietnam was that Watergate washed away all the sacrifices we and the South Vietnamese had made to be free of communist domination. TRUMP HAS LEARNED THIS LESSON AS IT APPLIES TO IRAN, CHINA (SOUTH CHINA SEA/TRADE), NORTH KOREA, AND RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IN EUROPE. HE HAS NOT APPLIED IT WHEN IT COMES TO THE THREAT GROWING FROM THE SYRIAN/IRANIAN/RUSSIAN AXIS NOW TRYING TO DOMINATE THE MIDDLE EAST—THIS IS WHERE MATTIS AND BOLTON DISAGREED WITH TRUMP AND FRANKLY,THEY ARE RIGHT—WE CANNOT LEAVE THIS AREA TO WHATEVER THE BAD GUYS HAVE IN MIND FOR THOSE PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE. See an interesting article from the Washington Examiner that I linked below.
In closing, as long as we have to deal with states and groups that wish to see our way of life destroyed (including our Radical-Left domestic enemies), THE LESSONS OF 9/11 REMAIN ENTIRELY RELEVANT TO HOW WE APPROACH CONTEMPORARY ISSUES!
Thanks for taking some of your time to read this and remember: “If not us, who; If not now, when?” Given the TOLL fight, that saying remains on the mark for all of us in CSC—we need to stay engaged!
God bless all of you, our state great state of Alabama, and the wonderful Untied States of America! Dr. Lou
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/strategically-confused-18-years-after-9-11-concern-the-us-still-doesnt-know-its-enemy?utm_source=breaking_push&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=push_notifications
“If not us, who; If not now, when?” ~ Ronald Reagan & others throughout history
"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." ~ Edmund Burke
|
