The End of War Haven’t we seen this before? Folks hanging from helicopters amid the takeover of South Vietnam by North Vietnam, after we spent a trillion dollars and thousands of Americans were killed? The only differences I can see in Afghanistan are bigger airplanes, and how the South Vietnamese put up a fight. The National Afghan army basically just walked away. But let’s forget all the excuses, stop the finger pointing, and see if we have learned a lesson in nation building. Yes, after we routed the Taliban twenty years ago, we were going to lead Afghanistan down the path of western democracies. We trained a National Afghan army complete with elite units. An army that on paper looked as if they could easily handle the rag-tag Taliban. My son, as a Green Beret SF spent a year in a warlord’s compound doing part of the training. (His interpreter has managed to flee.) But before we go any further, flashback to March 6th, 1836 where 180 Texians are holed up in Mission San Antonio de Valero. (The Alamo) (Yes, the Valero Company is headquartered in San Antonio.) They are being attacked by 1500 Mexican troops and face certain death when the Mexican General raises the no-quarter flag. They chose to fight and die rather than surrender. Now let’s fast forward to the present. The Taliban’s quick takeover certainly wasn’t because the National Afghan forces were a hit with a blitz of armor and thousands of crack troops. No! It was a bunch of bearded guys riding in the back of Ford pickups. The guys in the pickups took most of the villages by just showing up, and after the regional towns quickly fell it was just drive into Kabul. That caused our panicked pullout, which is turning out to be horrible. However, if you had the facts our military was considering two months ago, I doubt you would have done anything differently. Well, have we learned anything from our latest humiliating loss to a third world country? Yes, it was a total loss, but the screw-up was even going in. That’s right. Now, I’m going to compare our country with a country, which has been down the Afghan road and has suffered the same humiliating defeat. I believe we have something in common with the Russians. Russia and the United States should have learned they can’t impose their lifestyle and system of government on a people whose deep religious convictions are at odds to the new government. Just let that sink in and consider this: I believe it is time to declare an end to war. Let me explain what I mean by war: Since recorded history countries have used a mass military force to impose their will on other people. The reasons differ, but the use of on-the-ground large military force has pervaded history. I believe it is time for our country to draw back from engaging in military missions, which require large numbers of on-the-ground soldiers. Consider this: Our country is the only true superpower in the world militarily, economically, technologically, and socially. It is obvious, if we want to impose our will on another nations, we have the clout to do so. In the past we have rushed to use our military might without giving our non-military strength enough time to bring about the desired position our country wants to achieve. I believe we have passed the time where evil madmen ruled with the desire to dominate vast amounts of land. Naturally, if a Hitler or Mussolini turn up, they must be met with overwhelming force and eliminated. However, a Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi or other low rent dictators can be handled without committing American ground forces. It is time to declare an end to large numbers of American troops being used to eliminate the threat of these people. We have the clout to bring about the desired results without sacrificing the lives of our citizens. As a parent, when my son was in Afghanistan, I did not think it was in our national interest to have him killed. We could have accomplished much more by an economic blockade, severe aerial bombardment, and clandestine Special Forces and Seal attacks. Consider the countries we have invaded: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. I do not think the thousands of Americans killed in these wars were worth the sacrifice. And if we survey all recent the military intervention, I believe better results could have been achieved by not using our on-the-ground military. In the past one million American heroes have died as the result of on-the-ground conflicts around the world. An overview of these wars would place only the Second World War as a war needed to defend North American democracy. Today, our nation has reached an unheard of plateau. We have the means to impose our will on every nation on earth, and if we use our resources wisely, it can be done without putting thousands of American soldiers on the ground risking death. We have the obligation to every American to protect freedom, but in doing so we have another obligation. That paramount obligation is to protect the lives of every American. We can do both. Yes, without risking large numbers of young American lives, we can influence or actually impose our will on these countries if we so desire. This is not a call of isolationism, but a call to save American lives. Why subject thousands of young men to the dangers of modern warfare when we don't have to? If we really believe we are economically connected to the rest of the world, as New York Times columnist Tom Freedman said we are in THE WORLD IS FLAT, then just being the economic powerhouse enables us to impose our will on other nations. Obviously, we must have the patience and courage to tighten the economic strangulation of a rogue nation until submission to our nations will is achieved. With the power we now have in our nation's total package, we could prevent Iran from exporting a drop of oil. Yes, some of our allies who are illicitly profiting from skirting the embargo might object, but the fact is, if we so desire, we could isolate Iran into submission. As the screws tighten economically, it would be only a matter of time until submission. The same thing is true with North Korea. If we subjected North Korea to total economic strangulation, they might threaten to use their nuclear weapons, but they wouldn't dare. They know if they did it would be a total annihilation of their country. They may be crazy, but not that crazy. Our latest major on-the-ground military action was Afghanistan because they were harboring Osama Ben Laden, who attacked us on 9/11. We did finally get him, but it was with a Seal Team, and not a single American was killed. Seals and Green Berets are the future of military action in this country along with all the other non-military ways to impose our will on countries or individuals who would dare attack America. It is time to call an end to war.