A Hard Truth on Iraq

I felt compelled to write about the situation with ISIS in Iraq. This is something that hits pretty close to home as a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I have to say that we cannot commit combat resources or any ground forces to Iraq. I know that I will come under fire for this since many people in the United States want the country to take care of them.

Do not mistake my position, I recognize that ISIS is an evil organization. Like any who read this, I have seen the videos of be headings and mass shootings. I have read the reports everyone has, but I cannot send our members of the armed forces into harms way on this.

There is a clear reason I cannot support this. Like the invasion of Iraq, there is no clear victory line. There is no direct threat to our nation. I cannot send men and women to die for a mission the government refuses to define.

I can’t bear to see more flag draped coffins come into Dover when the best the Commander in Chief can say is that ISIS will be contained.

Every nation around the world seems to expect us to be the ones to mitigate conflicts. Conflicts that wouldn’t have arisen had we stayed out to begin with. In almost every conflict I have seen in my lifetime, American involvement in past events can be tied to current situations.

There is no standard for our involvement. It doesn’t exist now and it hasn’t existed for decades. If we are going to commit the lives of men and women to intervene, we have to have clarity beyond reproach.

What is the standard? Evil? Terrorism? Mass killings? If we pick something we must have the moral footing to be involved and the measure must be universally applied. Where were we in many slaughters in Africa? Even genocide that happened within the last decade? We looked on and did not interfere.

So clearly it must not be the genocide happening that is pushing the government to enter this conflict. So what is the motivation?

I personally believe that it is pressure from the Saudis and other oil rich Arab nations that fear ISIS taking them over, and the U.S. being dependent on the oil they supply is going in to ensure prices of oil don’t go up.

It’s a hard truth to swallow, but I didn’t sign on to being involved in politics to pander. I chose this road to speak the hard truths.

So tell me America. How many more grieving mothers should receive a flag to stabilize a region that has the means to defend itself? How many more children without fathers? How many more suicidal veterans who can’t get help after the war?