Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Make the War on Terror pay off

Boston Marathon Finish Line.1910. Author: Unknown.
Boston Marathon Finish Line.1910. Author: Unknown. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
       Yesterday's Boston Marathon bombing reminds us loudly, once again, that terrorism is with us to stay.  Early reports (about 5:50 PM yesterday out of Fox News and the New York Post) indicated a badly burned Saudi suspect was in an unnamed local hospital.  This was denied a half hour later by Boston police.  Overnight a suburban home was searched.  However, as of 7:30 this morning we don't know if the terrorist was foreign or domestic, part of a group or a solo actor.

      What we do know --- if we open our eyes and ears --- is that we ought not to be abandoning the Middle East,  and throwing away all the influence the US has gained there through the expenditure of lives and treasure.

      US defense focus is shifting to the Pacific, just as the Chinese are looking West.  They need Mid-East oil to keep fueling their rise to superpower status.  If we leave a vacuum, guess who is going to fill it.

      The other night, my wife and I watched "Syriana," I for the umteenth time.  When it first came out, I reviewed it for The History Place.  http://www.historyplace.com/specials/reviews/syriana.htm  I watched it through new eyes the other night.  My wife commented that "It doesn't make the CIA look very good."  I agreed and added that was a shame, because the real heroes in that film were the agents who took out the prince who had cut a deal with the Chinese.

      The US needs to view Asia as a whole and understand that what happens in the Middle East and the Stans directly impacts what happens int he Far East... all of which directly impacts us.



     
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