Getting Out of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

As debate and discussion goes on in the Obama Administration and in the U.S. Congress as to what our continued role in Iraq and Afghanistan should be, I pray that a way be sought to extradite us from there ASAP. The underlying reasons for involvement in both conflicts was flawed with the exception of destroying al-Qaida and their ability to attack us. Our conduct of these wars was simply bad judgment compounded by more bad judgment. It has proven to be and continues to be too costly in lives lost and injuries sustained by both our soldiers and the citizens of these nations. It was and continues to be too costly a use of our limited resources. In my view, we cannot afford to continue with these policies. It is terribly destructive for both us and these nations and is destabilizing for this region and the rest of the world.

When one invades another nation, essentially destroys it with superior raw military firepower, kills and injures thousands , and then attempts to impose our cultural, economic, and political systems upon them, justifying it as “nation building” in our image, you accomplish nothing but ill will. Their hatred of us resulting from our actions will continue on for generations to come. Why wouldn’t they. Just put yourself in their shoes. What would be the attitude of most in this country if we were to be militarily invaded, our country destroyed, where almost everyone in the country had friends and relatives killed or injured, and our cultural, economic, and political systems were forcibly altered. How many generations would it take to forget this. Afghan’s history is one of almost constant war against invading armies or amongst themselves. Because of their strategic location as a buffer between several powerful civilizations, they have been invaded by about every notable army beginning with Alexander the Great. All of them found Afghanistan to be inhospitable. In modern times, both the British and the Russians took their turn at occupying them only to leave several years later thinking the effort too costly and of little value. Afghanistan takes great pride in thwarting these efforts whatever the cost and we should have factored that into our plans.

One of the biggest barriers to getting out of these conflicts is our unwillingness to “lose face.” I submit that this is a terrible indictment of our collective ego. We are so afraid that it will be perceived as weakness on our part that we are willing to seriously consider expanding our military involvement with its continued injury and loss of life to our soldiers, the continued squandering of our limited resources, and the further solidifying of their hatred towards us. Our military capability to kill and destroy has been well documented here, but short of genocide, you don’t win insurgency type wars with military “shock and awe.” You might win conventional wars with this type of military action, but not wars of this nature, but we don’t seem to “get it.”

Another major concern is whether getting out ASAP will put as at a greater risk from extremist, militant, Islamic groups. Yes it might. They are out there, they want revenge, they want to “bring us down,” and they are dedicated to jihad. We’ve spent 8 years in the region and we still haven’t destroyed al-Qaida and now it is wider spread and very mobile. We’ve made it more of a monster than it already was and put ourselves at greater risk than before. We will have to remain vigilant at home and abroad. We will have to be ready to move quickly and be devastating in our military attacks on their training centers, work to disrupt their lines of communication, and most importantly, move to cut off their supply of money needed to support themselves. It will require that we develop and institute the tools to do the above and probably more.

Our Presidents, our National Security Council, our Congress, and our Department of Defense have let us down over the last 35 years. We should have been prepared for this kind of struggle with lessons learned in Vietnam and been prepared to modify it to other geographic regions and cultural and political situations. Instead, despite warnings from President Eisenhower back in 1961, we have spent billions of dollars in supporting a conventional “military industrial complex” that we now know was out dated. It has been our “Maginot Line,” and it has cost us dearly. And, if and when we move beyond this, we need to heed Collin Powell’s warning to avoid a terrorist military-industrial complex. Unfortunately, there is and will continue to be too much money to be made in the war business.

Another, and in my mind the saddest problem with getting out ASAP is, how do you say sorry to individuals and families of our soldiers who went off to war under the belief that they were doing their patriotic duty to make America safe and to preserve our great nation. They put themselves at great risk, they suffered life time injuries, and were killed doing what they were told was right. And then, for us to say, “We screwed up,” is a “bitter pill.” It will take incredibly courageous political leadership to make this admission because of the firestorm of criticism from the hawkish, hard line, conservative right. But, we dealt with it before with our disengagement from Vietnam and our wise acceptance of limited objectives in Korea and the Gulf War. No matter what is said or how it is couched, it won’t correct the mistakes. Those who served need to be honored for their sacrifice and we can only hope that in turn they will magnanimously agree that continuing to put others in harms way does not make good sense.

Walking/Jogging/Biking Corridors Column 1

This will be the first of several columns that I am offering regarding the proposed walking/jogging/biking corridors (WJBC) that a substantial number of people in town feel should be constructed.

A year ago, the McPherson Planning Commission initiated a look at such a program. Our first effort was to meet with the elementary schools (public and parochial) and middle school site councils. They showed enthusiastic support for the idea. Then, a study committee of some 27 people, representing a broad cross section of McPherson, was formed and met over several months preparing a plan which was approved by the Planning Commission. The plan was presented to the City Commission at a study session and at the City Commission meeting Tues., 10-6-09. It was well attended by local citizens, many of who were there to offer support for the plan.
We have a mission statement which reads: “The WJBC Study Committee recommends the following comprehensive plan for an interconnected network of corridors which includes sidewalks adjacent to selected streets/avenues/roads, bicycling lanes, paths, and trails to be used by pedestrians, joggers, tricyclists, bicyclists, those pushing strollers, wheel chair users, skaters, skate boarders, and scooters in and around the City of McPherson. The primary purpose is to encourage people of all ages to use non-motorized alternatives of transportation (with exception of motorized wheel chairs) on safe and convenient corridors that are clearly built and designated for these activities. These uses are intended to be both functional (to get from point A to B in town) and recreational (for exercise, relaxation, and family/socializing activities) which promotes healthy lifestyles.”

Also, we prepared a list of priorities that grew from one to six as time went on with our committee meetings. They are as follows:
1. Establishment of corridors for students (especially young ones in the 5 to 14 age group) to go safely to and from schools, parks, and recreational areas.
2. Provide corridors for adults as well as students to safely travel to public points in town like the Post Office, library, YMCA, Community Building, Court House, Municipal Building, colleges, churches, theatre, Opera House, parks, and recreation areas.
3. Establish corridors so that employees at our local businesses and industries can elect to commute safely to and from work by walking and biking.
4. Provide safe corridors for citizens of all ages to reach shopping areas down town and on the outskirts of town.
5. Provide safe and attractive corridors that would appeal to and be used by visitors to our city as well as those considering relocating to McPherson.
6. Further develop recreational paths and trails which would be removed from normal vehicle traffic providing a more relaxed walk and/or ride through a more natural setting.

On the surface this project does not appear to be a complicated one. However, when one gets into the workings of what is required to accomplish this corridor plan, it gets involved. There is need to justify the program by making it clear what benefits such a program would bring to the community; there is a monumental amount of engineering to be done by the public works department to determine how to do it and the cost; it could require a re-write of our city ordinances and policies regarding sidewalks; and of course the 800 lb. guerilla of how it is to be financed sets out there.

I intend to address most of these things over the next several weeks and would welcome community input. If you choose, you can contact me directly at 241-0606 or e-mail me at jeboyer1@cox.net. Those in support of this plan think that “it is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it!”

(A feature I will be putting in the column is the “walk or bike ride of the week.” Imagine you are doing this in all kinds of weather. You can draw your own conclusions if you give them a try) Walk or ride of the week: From Foxfire or Deerfield neighborhoods, go west on Ave. A to the Middle School or Washington Elementary School at same time kids are going to school and/or east when they are coming home from school.

Jim Boyer

PS. I want to commend our local school district for their organized, pro-active observance of National Walk to School Day conducted Wed. 10-7-09. The number of participants was good to see. These are the kinds of activities that are needed to encourage healthy life-styles. We just need to build infrastructure to support these programs.