The more effort you sink into trying to get yourself out, the more you realize that your fingers are stuck. To put it frankly, there will be no easy solution for an exit strategy out of the Middle East, much less Iraq.
From a purely strategic standpoint, the prospect is terrifying, and anyone who promises a 16-month withdrawal is setting himself up for a failure or a fiasco.
No matter who was elected yesterday, he is still going to have a definitive impact on the way we deal with these developing issues overseas. My core viewpoint is that the greatest strength of the United States has always been the strength of our economy, our values and our military.
What scares me, and a lot of the American people I'd believe right now, is that if we can't keep ahead of the rest of the world in these three respects, we are going to fall apart.
If you attributed this view to paranoia, I'd understand; the prospect is almost too much for me to swallow as well.
I've never considered myself jingoistic, but I do love my country, and us ceasing to be the best is unfathomable; it seems our long and difficult stay in the Middle East might bring all that about.
There's one thing I don't have, our Congress doesn't have and neither of the presidential candidates had, though, and that's the definitive solution to this conflict.
Though I was sure of who I voted for yesterday, I can sympathize with those who were less sure because there are no easy answers for the problems our country faces ... and I haven't even touched on those of the domestic variety.
Whoever was elected yesterday should be ready the day he steps into the Oval Office to take on some serious crisis management.
If there's something I can leave you with, it's that we're pouring trillions of dollars into a military strategy right now that is going to leave us woefully unprepared for the future.
The new President of the United States should make sure he keeps at least one goal in mind: that with the developing powers across the world, we need to continue developing as well.
Under the circumstance we cease to develop militarily, economically and diplomatically, we will fall behind. If there's one thing I am sure of, it's that.
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What a rambling, incoherent column. "While we're fighting a losing battle with the insurgents and ourselves in Iraq..." Upon what do you base this asinine comment? As a veteran of three tours in Iraq, the most recent bringing me home only a few months ago, I believe this comment to be ... inaccurate. This is about as politely as can put it. If you want to trust the nation to a neophyte that is your right. Kindly don't try to justify your choice by discussing topics about which you have no knowledge.
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Your article is too full of inaccuracies for me to address them all. In fact I'm not even sure what your position is. The only thing I can tell for sure about your position is that it's wrong.
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