In an article in the New York Times, the probable ascension of John McCain to the chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee is discussed.
As is well known, McCain is a strong hawk on Iraq. He believes we never should have left, and he apparently advocates sending combat troops in to fight Daesh.
I hope that he doesn't succeed in getting US troops sent there to fight, and I just have a short comment to make about it, which I will do in the extension.
The original article is here.
I probably differ from many here at Daily Kos in that although I am very worried about future directions, I am not opposed to our current involvement in the battle against Daesh. Given that group's engagement in genocide and mass slaughter of non-combattants, I personally believe that we have a duty to help the local people defend themselves. I also see a clear difference between what we are currently doing, which is primarily to provide material and tactical support as well as training, versus actually mounting an expeditionary force and doing the fighting ourselves, as Sen. McCain apparently wishes.
I believe in the appropriateness of President Obama's current approach, in which he is trying very carefully to support the local “less bad guys” as much as possible (1) without inflaming regional jealousies and hatreds any more than necessary, and (2) without sending in American combat troops. My worries stem largely from the possibility that the mission will creep inexorably toward Americans fighting there again.
There are at least two problems with Americans going back to fight in the Syraq region: (1) we would be in another quagmire, as we have many times before and still are to some extent; (2) we would once again be the “invaders” which would in turn inflame local sentiments against us, making it easier for the Daesh leaders to recruit fighters, and making the quagmire deeper and muckier.
So what I am hoping is that the president “sticks to his guns”, so to speak, but no more, regardless of what some generals may testify in Sen. McCain's committee, and no matter how insulting and demoralizing what McCain himself and his Republican running dogs say about the situation.
Thanks,
Greg Shenaut