Military Use
When the military is utilized it should always include overwhelming force, with a clear mission to secure freedom and the willingness to remain until the mission is accomplished. Otherwise do not go at all. When we go half way, stop short of doing the job right, too many lives are lost, and the unintended consequences are often worse than the problem we were trying to solve in the first place.
Aleppo, ISIS, and the refugee crisis, are all arguably the unintended consequences of the war in Iraq. We started with the right approach. We entered with overwhelming force, but then we should have built bases and remained, with as much force as necessary, to build a free & prosperous Iraq. Just as Senator John McCain called for back in 2008 when he was running for President, we should follow the example of Japan, Germany, and South Korea where we still have bases today. These three countries are peace loving allies today.
If we had followed this model and built a free and prosperous Iraq, Syrians could have just crossed the border to escape Assad. Instead of dying in Aleppo at the hands of Assad or dying in the Mediterranean Sea to escape Assad. Instead they would have been in Iraq helping us build a free and prosperous nation. The list of unintended consequences goes on:
If we built a fee and prosperous Iraq countless Iraqis killed at the hands of ISIS and Al Qaeda would still be alive. Arguably more American Troops would still be alive as well. Our Military is very adept at force protection when we build bases. When we force them to maintain temporary and makeshift quarters force protection is more difficult.
If we built a free and prosperous Iraq there would be no ISIS.
If we built a free and prosperous Iraq there would be no Iran deal. Industrious and peaceful Iranians would leave Iran to help build a free Iraq.
If we built a free and prosperous Iraq surrounding nations would have been forced to reform or risk losing their best and brightest all emigrating out of their dictatorships.
We should pray for the people of Aleppo, demand they be protected, and learn from history. We had historic models to follow and we ignored them.
When we go to war we must secure freedom and remain until the job is done. History is clear. It takes a generation (until the kids grow up in peace), because it takes a generation to extinguish hate. The next generation grows up in peace and then desires to protect it. We cannot continue to listen to those that only tell us what we want to hear, the pundits and politicians. We have to commit to do it right or don’t do it at all. The people of Aleppo, Iraqi's and our own troops that fought for their freedom, deserve better.