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 I keep reading, over and over, that so many people are hurt and
 angry that, after all those years, Iraq is being cut up by a
 handful of extremist invaders.

 Families who lost a child there are saying they don't want their
 child to have died in vain. They don't want their family member
 to have suffered wounds and psychological harm in vain. All that
 suffering and death and cost should not be allowed to have been
 in vain.

 Has it ever occured to anyone that is the worst possible reason
 to send troops to Iraq? That is why we couldn't win in the first
 place, our troops were sent there to serve our benefit, or,
 rather that of the oil industry. They certainly were not sent to
 serve the betterment of the Iraqi people.

 So why would the Iraqi people want our men there if they were
 only there for America's benefit?

 And why would it be any different now?

 We have Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the Ukraine, all in trouble
 and congress demanding Obama do something about all of them, yet
 not willing to say what, or to authorize anything.

 Time for a US president to affirm America's commitment to
 freedom. By which I mean, the president should announce the
 basic standards of freedom are freedom of speech, freedom of the
 press, freedom of religion and from religion, freedom to
 peaceably assemble, and free and honest elections.

 Then he should announce, if American forces are requested
 anywhere in the world, the price will be, all those freedoms be
 instituted.

 He should announce he will not send one single American soldier
 to any place in the world, other than to rescue innocent people
 and get out, or capture our enemies and get out, unless it is
 under those conditions.

 Requesting American military assistance requires accepting those
 conditions, and any government that attempts to renege on the
 agreement will be overthrown.

 That would set a standard that will dampen the enthusiasm of
 petty dictators under attack to cry for American assistance when
 he is to blame for his own troubles.

 Anytime and everytime an American soldier dies to shore up a
 dictatorship, his death was in vain.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

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