Endless Wars
I've spent almost a fifth of a century on this Earth, and all I've ever experienced from my country is a constant state of war. The United States of America has been engulfed in conflict in the Middle East ever since that fateful Tuesday morning in September 2001. We've been fighting, yet the threat of terror is more prevalent than ever.
What got me thinking about this today was a report I saw on the CBS Evening News tonight. Before closing the show, anchor Scott Pelley told the audience about three American soldiers who were killed by a member of the Taliban (which had supposedly been eradicated in Afghanistan). What Pelley said next really struck me with awe. One of the soldiers, Cpl. Dillon Baldridge was only six years old when al-Qaeda brought down the World Trade Center. This American hero is only two years older than I. Scott Pelley put it into perspective when he said, "Our troops are fighting in a cause they learned in a history book."
Then I thought about something that I found particularly disturbing. Next year, 2018, will be the first time young Americans will be able to e
nlist in the military who weren't even born when this war began. At 15 years, 9 months, 2 days (and counting), the "War on Terror" is the longest armed conflict our country has ever seen. And it's not even close.
Why are ISIL and other radical terror groups so hard to defeat? They aren't a country. They don't have the cash flow that is necessary to maintain a proper military. I'm not an expert on the subject, so there may be many points I'm missing. But it seems like the great United States ought to be able to get rid of these groups no problem.
Perhaps the issue goes beyond weapons and ammunition. At the core is an ideological issue that no amount of fighting can resolve. Our western way of life is so radically different than the traditional eastern lifestyle that the region has seen for thousands of years. More than anything, Western Civilization threatens religion, and traditional religious ways of life. After 15 years, the Middle East is no more stable now than it was in 2001. In fact, it is probably more unstable. Civil War has run rampant throughout the region, and no amount of foreign influence can resolve that. In the end, I believe this is a fight that only the Middle East can work out. The War on Terror has done no good for America. It has drained out resources. We can't afford this war; not while our citizens at home are struggling to make ends meet.
I'd love to see the day where peace exists in the Middle East. Unfortunately, as long as the United States is involved, peace will not come.
What got me thinking about this today was a report I saw on the CBS Evening News tonight. Before closing the show, anchor Scott Pelley told the audience about three American soldiers who were killed by a member of the Taliban (which had supposedly been eradicated in Afghanistan). What Pelley said next really struck me with awe. One of the soldiers, Cpl. Dillon Baldridge was only six years old when al-Qaeda brought down the World Trade Center. This American hero is only two years older than I. Scott Pelley put it into perspective when he said, "Our troops are fighting in a cause they learned in a history book."
Then I thought about something that I found particularly disturbing. Next year, 2018, will be the first time young Americans will be able to e
nlist in the military who weren't even born when this war began. At 15 years, 9 months, 2 days (and counting), the "War on Terror" is the longest armed conflict our country has ever seen. And it's not even close.
Why are ISIL and other radical terror groups so hard to defeat? They aren't a country. They don't have the cash flow that is necessary to maintain a proper military. I'm not an expert on the subject, so there may be many points I'm missing. But it seems like the great United States ought to be able to get rid of these groups no problem.
Perhaps the issue goes beyond weapons and ammunition. At the core is an ideological issue that no amount of fighting can resolve. Our western way of life is so radically different than the traditional eastern lifestyle that the region has seen for thousands of years. More than anything, Western Civilization threatens religion, and traditional religious ways of life. After 15 years, the Middle East is no more stable now than it was in 2001. In fact, it is probably more unstable. Civil War has run rampant throughout the region, and no amount of foreign influence can resolve that. In the end, I believe this is a fight that only the Middle East can work out. The War on Terror has done no good for America. It has drained out resources. We can't afford this war; not while our citizens at home are struggling to make ends meet.
I'd love to see the day where peace exists in the Middle East. Unfortunately, as long as the United States is involved, peace will not come.
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