Amazingly enough, I agree with Buchanan. The War guys have not thought through the consequences of their proposed actions on the region and the world. Just as they believe that propaganda and half truths can win elections and the hearts of minds of Americans (after all, they took the election, didn't they?), they think their military might can cow the world, render them speechless and incapable of response. What happens if the Pakistan govt falls into fundamentalist hands? Will they get their revenge by detonating somewhere (India, any nearby US bases?) the atomic weapons that we know they have? What if suitcase bombs from the old SU get into fundamentalist hands through Tajikistan or one of the other Islamic "republics" spun off from there? The Bushites--or whoever is calling the shots here--will call forth the fury of forces that even their military might won't be able to control. Indeed, they may have already done so with their rhetoric.
<<But is this not a splendid vision, asks the War Party. After all, is this not America's day in the sun, her moment in history? And is not the crushing of Islamism and the modernization of the Arab world a cause worthy of a superpower's investment of considerable treasure and blood?
What is wrong with the War Party's vision?
Just this: Pro-American regimes in Cairo, Amman and Riyadh will be shaken to their foundations by the cataclysm unleashed as Americans smash Iraq, while Israelis crush Palestinians. Nor is Iran likely to passively await encirclement. Terror attacks seem certain. Nor is a militant Islam that holds in thrall scores of millions of believers from Morocco to Indonesia likely to welcome infidel America and Israel dictating the destiny of the Muslim world.
As for the pro-American regimes in Kabul and Pakistan, they are but one bullet away from becoming anti-American. And should the Royal House of Saud come crashing down, as the War Party ardently hopes, do they seriously believe a Vermont-style democracy will arise?
Since Desert Storm, America has chopped its fleets, air wings and ground troops by near 50 percent, while adding military commitments in the Balkans, Afghanistan, the Gulf and Central Asia. Invading and occupying Iraq will require hundreds of thousands of more troops.
We are running out of army. And while Americans have shown they will back wars fought with no conscripts and few casualties, the day is not far off when they will be asked to draft their sons to fight for empire, and many of those sons will not be coming home. That day, Americans will tell us whether they really wish to pay the blood tax that is the price of policing the War Party's empire.>>
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