Rand Paul: Trump Needs To bring Troops Home Then Have A Military Parade
Steve Watson
Senator Rand Paul declared support for President Trump’s proposed military parade, with one caveat… bring the troops home from Afghanistan first.
In an op ed [1], Paul said he supports Trump’s idea of a victory parade, but first victory must be declared.
“Though the martial image of high-stepping soldiers is not one I tend to associate with our nation’s Founders’ distrust of a standing Army, I’m not against a victory celebration.” the Senator wrote.
“So I propose we declare victory in Afghanistan, bring home our 14,000 troops and hold a victory parade.” Paul added.
The Senator explained that it is time to draw a close to the chapter of US involvement in conflict in the middle east.
“We defeated the enemy in Afghanistan. We killed or captured the terrorists who planned, plotted, or aided in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. We killed the ringleader, Osama bin Laden. We disrupted the terrorists’ camps where they plotted and trained. We dislodged the Taliban government that aided and abetted bin Laden.” Paul wrote.
The Senator explained that there have been too many instances in US foreign policy of not knowing when to stop meddling.
“We just don’t know how to appreciate a good thing. A big part of our foreign policy failures is not knowing when and how to declare victory. So, why not a parade? Bring the troops home and declare the victory that should have been declared years ago.” Paul stated.
Paul also noted that nation building where nations do not exist leads to quagmire.
“The only reason victory is elusive in Afghanistan is that presidents continue to have an impossible definition of victory,” Paul said, adding “If victory is creating a nation where no real nation has ever existed, then no victory will ever occur.”
Paul highlighted how draining the conflict in Afghanistan has been on the US economy, and how little has actually been achieved out of it.
“We spend about $50 billion a year in Afghanistan. When quizzed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently, undersecretaries of Defense and State could not answer the most rudimentary of questions concerning the war.” Paul noted.
“How many Taliban fighters do we face? Blank faces for an answer. What percentage of the Taliban are unrepentant terrorists unwilling to negotiate? Blank faces again.” The Senator wrote.
“The neocons are unaccustomed to nuance in victory.” Paul concluded, explaining that “They seem to have learned some lesson about unconditional and total surrender when America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II with the surrender of Japan, and they seem unwilling or unable to accept any other form of victory.”
The leftist media responded [2] to Trump’s idea of a parade this week with gross over-exaggeration, declaring to be ‘dictator-like’ and akin to North Korea.
Article printed from Prison Planet.com: https://www.prisonplanet.com