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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
So we can react quickly with disaster relief?
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It took the George Washington task force five days to get there. People die after three days of no water.
Of course it could be worse. George Jr took five days to let a US aircraft carrier (USS Bataan) to move only 50 miles up the Mississippi River to rescue Katrina victims in the SuperDome and Convention Center.
We (not just Americans) may have secret agreements with Israel. Unfortunately such obligations are not made public until resources must be committed. Commitments may exist even with 'neutral' countries such as Switzerland. Best way to avoid military endeavors is to negotiate solutions before a commitment becomes necessary. Like it or not, America has obligations all over the world.
Remember why Saddam invaded Kuwait. The American ambassador (April Glaspie) told Saddam it would be OK.. Another example of why we must carefully negotiate solutions from an informed position. We were, unfortunately, too ambiguous with Saddam.
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We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960s, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America.
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Kuwait was not in the continental US. So why did we deploy the entire Seventh Corp? Americans have certain (often unknown) commitments to other nations. Protecting the American serviceman means negotiating solutions before a problem festers.
However, that problem is first and foremost the obligation of regional nations. Extremists want to solve problems immediately with military deployments. Even the lesson of Nam too often get forgotten.
Even Barry Goldwater should have learned, extremism in the defense of liberty is a vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is a virtue.