Many years ago, maybe it was 1973, I watched the bloody Mideast war from the "Safe Perch" here in America. We were still embroiled in Vietnam at that time, and things like wars in Israel seemed nearly insignificant. I noted only that a lot of tanks shot at a lot of other tanks and wondered what good tanks were in modern wars.
Our war in Vietnam was much different, a war in jungles and rivers and mountains that all seemed to merge from one country into another without any particular noticeable boundaries. Literal "ant trails" would provide the super highway of war materials which seemed to cross country boundaries wherever convenient, perhaps hoping American air-strikes would not be allowed to hit across those imaginary lines. Tanks were of limited use in a land where water buffalos were still major farming machines.
I was already out of the Navy long before 1973 and it was somebody else's nightmare, just a political issue between red-necks and hippies to me. Israel had their own enemies who I barely cared about.
We are today in a kind of Vietnam again. Not all things are parallel, since the landscapes are much different -- a severe lack of water rather than an overabundance. The people are much different. They seem to want to die. People in Vietnam may have been sacrificed, but usually against their will. People in the Islamic wars will brainwash their children to volunteer as guided weapons for somebody like Iran or Hezbollah to use against minions of the Great Satan, of which there are plenty.
Is our perch so safe? Probably we are safer than Israel, since it would be harder for the same terrorists to rain missiles down on America. Perhaps Iran or WhoeverStan will try to nuke us someday, but that seems pretty suicidal and even if we did not retaliate, it would only destroy a small part of America and Awaken the Great Satan to a form unrepentant with vengeance. We would annex their oil wells and destroy their access points to commerce.
But the same people who cheered when the 9/11 event occurred are fighting Israel and crying foul when civilians are "murdered by Israel". I feel no sorrow for the adults of that land. They dance in the streets to celebrate our hardships, or a minor victory over Israel. They will claim victory from the ashes of their proud Islamic wastelands.
I will feel more tired of war, no matter who wins, or claims to win. What does the winner win? What prize do they get? What medals do they pin to their chests? What do they inscribe on the gravestones of their children? Do those who kill for God die a more glorious death than those who kill for pillage? I doubt it. From my safe perch it all seems like endless senseless murders which come and go for thousands of years.
Our war in Vietnam was much different, a war in jungles and rivers and mountains that all seemed to merge from one country into another without any particular noticeable boundaries. Literal "ant trails" would provide the super highway of war materials which seemed to cross country boundaries wherever convenient, perhaps hoping American air-strikes would not be allowed to hit across those imaginary lines. Tanks were of limited use in a land where water buffalos were still major farming machines.
I was already out of the Navy long before 1973 and it was somebody else's nightmare, just a political issue between red-necks and hippies to me. Israel had their own enemies who I barely cared about.
We are today in a kind of Vietnam again. Not all things are parallel, since the landscapes are much different -- a severe lack of water rather than an overabundance. The people are much different. They seem to want to die. People in Vietnam may have been sacrificed, but usually against their will. People in the Islamic wars will brainwash their children to volunteer as guided weapons for somebody like Iran or Hezbollah to use against minions of the Great Satan, of which there are plenty.
Is our perch so safe? Probably we are safer than Israel, since it would be harder for the same terrorists to rain missiles down on America. Perhaps Iran or WhoeverStan will try to nuke us someday, but that seems pretty suicidal and even if we did not retaliate, it would only destroy a small part of America and Awaken the Great Satan to a form unrepentant with vengeance. We would annex their oil wells and destroy their access points to commerce.
But the same people who cheered when the 9/11 event occurred are fighting Israel and crying foul when civilians are "murdered by Israel". I feel no sorrow for the adults of that land. They dance in the streets to celebrate our hardships, or a minor victory over Israel. They will claim victory from the ashes of their proud Islamic wastelands.
I will feel more tired of war, no matter who wins, or claims to win. What does the winner win? What prize do they get? What medals do they pin to their chests? What do they inscribe on the gravestones of their children? Do those who kill for God die a more glorious death than those who kill for pillage? I doubt it. From my safe perch it all seems like endless senseless murders which come and go for thousands of years.
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