Hey, isolationists and neocon haters. We ARE at war. What now?
Don’t think we’re at war? Just ask families of the three soldiers killed today or the sailors aboard the USS Carney that had to shoot down a Houthis missile fired at the guided missile destroyer.
We’ve got some choices to make:
Surrender. Tell Iran, which is in back of the increasing attacks on Americans, “You’re right. We shouldn’t be there. There’s nothing here for us. We’re going, like we did in Afghanistan. So long.”
Ignore. Just like the picked-on kid at school who is told to ignore the bully. Wait long enough and he’ll stop. Kind of like the Biden administration has ignored the scores of attacks on Americans in the Middle East. Just like President Joe “Let’s Pretend” Biden has ignored the uncounted (say more than 12 million) illegal immigrants.
Fight like we mean it. Instead of swatting at incoming missiles like flies, inflict real pain and meaningful loss on Iran. The Pentagon has long has mapped out targets of choice and of severe consequence.
As of this writing, the US Central Command said three service members, to be identified after their families are notified, were killed and 25 injured. Officials said Iran-backed fanatics used a drone, launched from Syria, to attack the US outpost in northeast Jordan
A few days earlier, the Carney had to shoot down a Houthis missile heading its way. The Pentagon, which has been trying to downplay the seriousness of the attacks, said that the missile came down in the vicinity of the Carney, implying that the ship itself wasn’t under attack.
If that’s so, why did a high muckamuck admiral come aboard to present a combat action ribbon to the Carney. That commendation is presented only for performance “under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or surface combat engagement,”
The soft-soap coming from the administration is a futile effort to persuade Americans that we shouldn’t get worked up. The White House’s central idea is to avoid an escalation of the conflict. Biden today issued a statement pledging to continue the fight on terrorism and the US would respond when and where we decide. Whatever that means.
Having been a destroyer sailor myself, it takes little to imagine what it must be like to be a sitting duck. Of course, back then in the late 1960s, we didn’t have any defenses like the technically advanced firepower on the Carney. But that doesn’t make it less comfortable for those sailors. American forces at sea and on the ground have been successful in shooting down scores of missiles. But those defenses have to be one hundred percent perfect; only one has to get through.
Beginning now, when Congress gets back in session this week, expect to hear renewed debate over whether the commander-in-chief can order military action or whether Congress has to declare war. Going back to the Vietnam War, Congress has passed a number of authorizations for the president to take action. So, we’ll have to watch another divided Congress try to figure it out.
Someone now must ask former President Donald Trump what he should do. He has been the favorite of some isolationist Republicans, although at the same time he tried to give the impression that he’s a tough-guy who won’t allow America to take this kind of crap. One of his targets are neo-cons (short for new-conservatives who get blamed for every alleged foreign policy mistake, like the war in Iraq.
I’m not a military expert, so I don’t know what Iranian targets would be most productive. What I do know, though, is that America should be fed up with Iran’s war against us.
Dennis Byrne is a retired Chicago journalist, author and freelance writer. Email: dennis@dennisbyrne.net
Kinda makes you wonder why this kind of stuff wasn't going on while Trump was President.