In the last few months bombings have escalated between Israel and Hamas. U.S. Warplanes have been ordered back to Afghanistan. Troops have been ordered back to Iraq, and two Americans have been beheaded in Syria. This all begs the question: Why are we wasting our time with these people?
For those of you who think we go there for Oil, here are some fun facts for you. Forty percent of our oil comes from Texas, Alaska, and California. Some of this oil we sell to other countries. In other words…it doesn’t stay here. The next largest amount we get is 20% and comes from Latin America and after that Canada gives us 15%. Africa provides a little over 10% and the Saudi’s (our Allies…no wars) provide 8%. There are a few other sources but the amounts are around 2% and so small they aren’t worth listing. Now that means that only 5% of oil comes from middle-eastern countries. If we stop exporting our oil we can make that up. So if that’s the case why are we there?
I realize that there may be other global considerations with these conflicts. For example, Iran may be able to make a nuclear bomb. Yea, we don’t want that. After all, a world power bent on our nuclear annihilation is Russia’s job. They’ve been failing miserably at it in recent decades, but with what’s going on in the Ukraine I think they’re making a comeback!
These are not civilized nations of people. If they want to kill each other, shouldn’t we let them? If the majority of people in these nations thought that what was happening was wrong wouldn’t you think there would be an outcry from them? I mean the civilized nations seem to be whining, but I don’t hear a lot of them whining. They seem to think this is business as usual. Let’s face it, if this happened in the U.S. it would be very short lived. Police and military support or not, it would be pretty short lived.
It’s never a good idea to jump in the middle of a cat fight. It’s always best to wait until their done killing themselves. So why are we sacrificing our money, resources, and the blood of our young people for regions that have been fighting for so long it predates written history? They have been killing each other for thousands, if not millions, of years, and they will continue to kill each other for thousands more. It’s all they know. It’s all they will ever know. It is not now, nor will it ever be our place to change these attitudes. They have to do it themselves. Let’s let them.
If violent groups in third world countries are a cancer then I think it’s too late to cure it. This patient is brain-dead. Let’s pull the plug. We should pull our money, pull our resources, and pull our troops. It’s time to let this patient die. All we should do is make sure the infection doesn’t spread.
I’m not suggesting we become an isolationist country. I’m suggesting we not be the Tim Taylor country. Every time we try to fix something it ends up causing more problems than it solves. We’re like the neighbor who comes over to fix a leak, and by the end of the day you’re calling 8 contractors in addition to the plumber to fix the mess they created. We need to stop…it’s a mental condition. Remember what Einstein said: The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. I think it’s time for some therapy.
Just Say No!