vcnewsreview.com
Trump channels George McGovern - Vilas County News-Review
ABOUT ▼
MEET THE STAFF
ADVERTISE
CONTACT
SUBMISSIONS ▼
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NEWS TIPS
PHOTO SUBMISSIONS
ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT
OBITUARY POLICY
PHOTO GALLERY
LOGIN-OUT
Search only accepts letters and numbers.
HOME
NEWS
LIFESTYLE ▼
Slices of Life
Conover-Land O' Lakes
Phelps
Sayner-St. Germain
Three Lakes
Community Calendar
OUTDOORS ▼
Fishing with the Guides
In the Outdoors
SPORTS ▼
Sports Sidelines
OPINION ▼
Will Maines
Byron McNutt
Robert Reich
Cal Thomas
PUBLIC RECORDS ▼
Births
Engagements
Obituaries
Weddings
CLASSIFIEDS ▼
News-Review Classifieds
North Woods Trader Classifieds
SUBSCRIBE
Trump channels George McGovern
By Cal Thomas
10/15/2019 11:49 AM
select
Delicious
Blogger
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Tumblr
ShareOnYammer
Pinterest
GoogleBookmarks
ShareOnGooglePlus
Tell a friend
THE YEAR WAS 1972 and Americans wanted out of the Vietnam War. The right, because it was not being won, and the left because of the increasing body count and lies from generals and politicians about “progress” toward defeating the communists.
Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern’s slogan “Come Home, America” resonated with growing numbers of people. When Richard Nixon defeated McGovern in a landslide, even Nixon began planning for a U.S. withdrawal. “Peace with honor” was his slogan.
The late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden cited that withdrawal as evidence that the United States had no stomach for long wars. He believed the United States would grow weary from the war on terror, ceding the killing field to the terrorists.
Now, comes President Donald Trump with another promise for a unilateral withdrawal of between 50 and 100 troops from Syria. Many critics of the decision believe it is an invitation for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to slaughter Kurdish forces, America’s loyal ally in the region in the fight against terrorism. The Kurds have served as a buffer, preventing an attack by Turkey’s powerful military. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take Turkey long to press its advantage. Reuters reported “Turkey’s military struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent Kurdish forces using the route to reinforce northeast Syria as Ankara prepares to launch an offensive there after a surprise U.S. troop pullback.”
Following backlash, the White House appeared to reverse its Syria decision. An administration official, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said the United States is not removing its forces from Syria in the face of a Turkish incursion. Which decision will ultimately prevail?
But Trump has gone further than announcing a unilateral withdrawal of forces. He has threatened Erdogan that if he attacks the Kurds and mistreats ISIS prisoners, and does anything the president considers inhumane, they could suffer the wrath of an extremely decimated economy.
Erdogan is an Islamist and it appears he’s trying to take Turkey back to the days when it was an Islamic state. Does the president seriously believe Erdogan will bow to threats from one he likely considers an infidel leader of the great Satan as another Islamist state, Iran, has called us?
The president said he is merely fulfilling a campaign promise to stop involving America in endless wars. It is a noble pursuit, but just as it takes two to tango, it also takes two warring sides to declare a ceasefire or peace. When only one side abandons the battlefield, and with terrorism the battlefield is everywhere, guess which side wins.
Even some usually supportive Capitol Hill Republicans are critical of the president’s decision because it betrays a lack of policy objectives in the region. No one knows or can articulate U.S. foreign policy anywhere. Another example: the administration supports the toppling of the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, but it is no closer to achieving that stated goal.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was praised by Trump for her service when she announced her resignation, has joined the growing chorus of people alarmed by the president’s decision. Haley, a potential presidential candidate in the near future, has said that the new U.S. policy toward the Kurds, if one can call it a policy, amounts to leaving them to die and is a mistake.
Yes, the Middle East is a snake pit and the United States has spent a lot of money over many years trying to kill off the “snakes.” But stopping the killing of those who want to kill us almost guarantees they will return to the battle with renewed resolve and new recruits. What will the unilateral withdrawers say then?
Coming home is no guarantee the terrorists won’t come after us here. In fact, Iran has bragged of having their agents inside the United States, awaiting instructions to inflict more death and destruction.
America’s withdrawal of troops from Vietnam ensured a communist victory, but that war was more about nationalism than communism. This war is different.
When he was president, George W. Bush said we are fighting terrorists over there, so we won’t have to fight them here. Withdrawing troops and risking the destruction of the Kurds is a step too far.
This year marks Cal Thomas’ 35th year as a syndicated columnist.
Submit a comment
*
indicates a required field
Please fill out the form below to submit a comment.
We welcome your comments at vcnewsreview.com. Comments will be limited to 5,000 characters. Persons commenting must provide their full name and email address. Anonymous comments will not be posted. Comments should remain on the topic set by the original article. Personal attacks, profanity, slander, libelous statements and texting language will not be allowed. All comments will be reviewed prior to posting. Comments will only be posted during regular business hours. Phone numbers are optional and will not be publicized.
Comment
*
Your Name
Email
Phone
A comment must be approved by our staff before it will be displayed on the website.
Submit
X
Download Our App!
Get notified on Breaking News!
SITE LINKS
AFFILIATES
AFFILIATES (CONT.)
USEFUL INFO
News
Lifestyle
Outdoors
Sports
Opinion
Public Records
Classifieds
Subscribe
More Lifestyles
The Ada Herald
Bolivar Bulletin Times
Dearborn County Register
Delphos Herald
Eagle Print
Falmouth Outlook
Iron County Reporter
Monroe County Beacon
Paulding Progress
Putnam County Sentinel
Ohio County News
Rising Sun Recorder
Star Gazette
The Harrison Press
The Journal Press
The Times Bulletin
Waushara Argus
Forms and Flyers
Mechanical Information
Media Kit
Rate Card
Preprint Distribution Rate Card
Letters/Comments Policy
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##