Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is Wrong About America’s Security Interests ”Don’t Be Led Into a Less Secure America.”
Vacuums of Power are Immediately Filled – Which Nation Do You Want to Lead America if America withdrawals from a leadership presence on the global stage?
A Metaphor - Strategic City of Manbij Taken by Syrian Forces - Syria’s city of Manbij taken by Syrian Forces while America disengages. Turkish forces advance. Kurdish forces stand betrayed, and the World cries “War Crimes.” America - The World’s Leader - The World’s Policeman – NOT! (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-15/volkswagen-delays-turkey-investment-decision-syria-update)
Folks, if I hear it again from Congresswoman Gabbard or anyone else that “America must stop being the world’s policeman” I think I’ll scream! America is not the world’s policeman as one of the Democrats’ Presidential Candidates, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and journalist Jon Stossell, discussed: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVvYH6Kkj_s&fbclid=IwAR10KN1bf3WMnOSn-NY1fS0x51bmTXFV2NQy14EqyRSihqz3U6-ufJ8whNY).
America never has been, is not currently, and never will be the world’s policeman folks. Please stop using this antiquated bumper sticker phrase. The leadership we elect is tasked to conduct international engagement, diplomatically, militarily, economically, that is in America’s best security interests. It’s hard work often with many options on how to engage circumstances abroad, with all available options sometimes bad. But, we try to make the best choices to achieve the best outcomes for America. And, most of us can agree that if we can send troops abroad to diminish a threat before it becomes a threat to Americans on our own soil, in our own cities and neighborhoods, we should do it.
America ALWAYS behaves in its best self-interests first. This has always been true, and correct. And, is also true of all clear-thinking countries. It is “right” thinking. Though I find Congresswoman Gabbard an articulate and impressive lady in some regards, her views on national security are underdeveloped, poorly articulated, emotional, and dangerously indicative of a lack of awareness and the vision required to effectively lead in the role of President. I urge you to not support her, and her underdeveloped and misinformed views - she is unprepared to be America’s Command-in-Chief.
Of course, the difficult decisions that occur on exactly how we engage with the rest of the world is always the challenge, and yes, sometimes bad decisions happen despite Americas best intentions. From how we spend our national treasure, and avoid bankruptcy, to putting troops in harm’s way where lives hang in the balance, are always the difficult questions. Sometimes we get it right, and sadly sometimes we get it wrong. This is what makes the business of international engagement such a challenge and why we must have rational, well informed, clearheaded representatives involved in debating and making these decisions.
Sure, we’ve all heard the lament by intelligent, worldly, and accomplished folks in our own communities say “why can’t we just leave the world alone and bring all our soldiers home”, and, “Let countries determine their own fates and let’s stop meddling in their affairs.” We all wish for that. We all want a peaceful world where we are safe and secure and there is no need for fighting or turmoil and where we all have enough. I want that too. But while even the latter informed realists lament and wish for better, they also know in their heart of hearts that the world is a dangerous place. They all know to keep America safe, we must do our best to address a vast array of global security challenges to give ourselves the best chance at lasting security and freedom here at home – at least, as much as our purse will allow.
To get a feel for where we should focus our attention with our limited resources, take a gander at the U.S. National Security Strategy. An outstanding short document to read to better understand the threats America faces. It is signed by the President and takes into account the whole of our government’s security services with the best intelligence we have. Take a look to better understand the threats we face that will affect us at home if we don’t do our best to engage and diminish them abroad: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905-2.pdf
Folks, the bad guys won’t go away no matter how inwardly we may turn and hope they just leave us alone – that’s a fact. There are people and regimes we have all heard of – Al Qaida, ISIS, etc. They want to hurt America and want to shape their vision of the world at America’s expense – they aren’t going away. In our modern times, we cannot wait until a threat is at our doorsteps and wonder if the smoke we see over the horizon is the approaching enemy. By then, it will be too late to respond. As you know, we live in a world of WMDs and violent extremism. Extremist organizations include people who actively seek WMDs today to harm Americas interests. They happily would jump at the chance to cause mayhem, civil unrest, chaos, and destabilize America.
But it is not just extreme terrorists that want to see America and our free and allied western vision of the world undermined. Corrupt oligarchs, dictatorships such as Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran, Venezuela, etc. see a different vision of the world that does not include the freedoms and rights we value. You have seen N. Korea use biological weapons to assassinate political opponents in foreign countries. You have seen Russia support the Assad regime in Syria, invade their neighbors, and use radioactive materials to kill their political opponents in foreign nations - including meddling in U.S. elections not to mention enabling the distribution of weapons and forces used to kill American troops in Iraq. You see China violently squashing civil unrest in Hong Kong today to maintain its grip on power, while displaying their growing arsenal to confront American led western powers with aircraft carrier killing missiles, anti-satellite rockets, and a growing conventional military at their 70th national celebration in Beijing earlier this month. And an ever more aggressive Iranian religious inspired theocracy that has nuclear technology and wishes to build its own nuclear weapons to threaten its neighbors with. The list goes on. They strive to diminish the values the American led west promotes – freedom, security, rule of law, our constitutional values that so many in the world wish to immigrate toward for a reason - right!
So, what do we do? Do we turn inwardly? Do we ignore the threats? Or just as bad, do we recognize the threats, leave them unanswered, allow those who have a different world vision to fill the leadership void we leave behind when we decide it’s time to withdraw from world affairs and let them lead. China did this and they have a name for it as they decayed into a basket case country taken advantage of by western powers: “the Century of Shame.” Maybe we don’t want such a fate?
But, how do we balance bankrupting the nation and keeping the bad guys at bay? The answer is working together with our allies to share the financial and operational burden of collective security equitably. It’s also to intelligently ration our foreign policy to cost effectively sustain our security interests. And, the answer includes sustaining our economic position on the global stage while continuing to maintain an acceptable balance of quality of life and tranquility in America for the American people. This includes the right balancing of technologies to have ready to confront those who threaten America while still maintaining the way of life we’ve come to enjoy.
As we debate the merits of bringing the troops from various assignments home, and where and when to engage enemies and threats abroad, let’s not forget that we are not, nor ever have been, the world’s policeman. And, let’s not forget that the leadership and power vacuum we create when we, as the only global superpower, withdraw from engagements around the world is invariably filled by someone else who may not be sympathetic to Americas interests. Will that someone else have America’s best interests at heart? Will their interests align with America’s? Or, will their interests be counter to America’s and serve to undermine our interests? These are the questions that matter.
Support for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is support for a less secure America. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard enjoys perpetuating the falsehood of America wastefully being the global policeman in her effort to garner electorate attention and votes at the cost of leading America in the wrong direction. The scary thing about her position is that she will say anything to get attention, and she actually believes turning America inward is in our best security interests. She’s wrong!
Beware of leadership that will lead you into disaster.
A vote for Gabbard is a vote for a less secure America.