Anyone who knows anything about the 1960's, knows well that one of the most common themes of the news during that decade was "escalation". Escalation was the process whereby the initially tiny number of US troops involved with the conflict in Vietnam grew to just under three quarter of a million. The increases in troop levels were small at first and they grew larger and larger as time went on. With the end of the Vietnam era, most people thought that the concept of escalation was gone for good. In fact, American military doctrine calls for the employment of large numbers of troops to carry out a mission so that the opposition does not have the time to adapt and can be overpowered.
This is why I find it so troubling that president Obama is bring escalation back for another try. Just last week we heard Obama tell us that there would be no boots on the ground in Iraq. That was followed within two days by the announcement that there would be 300 American troops going to Iraq, but that they would just be there to protect the embassy and some other American installations. Today, Obama's White House announced that there would be 200 more troops going immediately, and these troops are not limited to embassy protection. These new guys are going to be used to help the Iraqis bring the fight to the ISIS terrorists.
It may be that the correct policy here is for the US to have no troops in Iraq. It may be that the correct policy is for the US to have 100,000 troops in Iraq. I do not address that issue. I just know that there needs to be an overall policy decision and that decision is needed NOW, not next week or next month, but NOW. President Obama has to tell the American people how he plans to respond to events in Iraq, and he has to tell us all the truth. It is worse than terrible for him to tell us "no boots on the ground" on day one and then to send two different groups of hundreds of men within a week of that announcement.
America deserves the truth, even if Obama has trouble saying the words.
This is why I find it so troubling that president Obama is bring escalation back for another try. Just last week we heard Obama tell us that there would be no boots on the ground in Iraq. That was followed within two days by the announcement that there would be 300 American troops going to Iraq, but that they would just be there to protect the embassy and some other American installations. Today, Obama's White House announced that there would be 200 more troops going immediately, and these troops are not limited to embassy protection. These new guys are going to be used to help the Iraqis bring the fight to the ISIS terrorists.
It may be that the correct policy here is for the US to have no troops in Iraq. It may be that the correct policy is for the US to have 100,000 troops in Iraq. I do not address that issue. I just know that there needs to be an overall policy decision and that decision is needed NOW, not next week or next month, but NOW. President Obama has to tell the American people how he plans to respond to events in Iraq, and he has to tell us all the truth. It is worse than terrible for him to tell us "no boots on the ground" on day one and then to send two different groups of hundreds of men within a week of that announcement.
America deserves the truth, even if Obama has trouble saying the words.
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