By: Stephen Kinser
1/24/2018
Source: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6578073269238700358#editor/target=post;postID=2220879227933611649
1/24/2018
Source: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6578073269238700358#editor/target=post;postID=2220879227933611649
When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced last week that American troops would remain
in Syria indefinitely, he sounded much like the legendary nation-grabber
Theodore Roosevelt.
“We have hoisted our
flag, and it is not fashioned of the stuff which can be quickly hauled down,”
Roosevelt declared during debate over the Philippine War more
than a century ago. “There must be control! There must be mastery!”
No one imagines that
the 2,000 American soldiers now in Syria — or even a much
larger force — can bring either mastery or control. Yet Tillerson’s
announcement made clear that Syria is becoming a new front in the “long war”
that the United States seems determined to fight in the Middle East. This
commits our blood and treasure to a project that serves no vital American
interest. On the contrary, our extended involvement in the Syrian civil war
will promote instability, feed radicalism, divide NATO, and expose American
troops to deadly attack. Since Congress has not approved our entry into this
war, it may also be illegal.
