Wars and rumors of wars

Is Trump going to be responsible for leading us into another war as some have suggested? There are indeed a number of hot spots around the Globe including China, North Korea, and the Middle East.

China has been building islands and establishing military bases in the South China Sea. American reconnaissance planes have been flying patrols over these new artificial islands for some time now. China is laying claim to territorial waters and challenging several U.S. allies in the region.

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is feverishly attempting to develop a long-range missile that could carry a nuclear device capable of striking the United States.

Past administrations have struggled to come up with a viable plan to convince the North Koreans to abandon such aggressive policies. Obama’s strategy involved cyber war against North Korea’s missile program. That seems to have had little deterrence. Obama has been so concerned that he warned Trump that North Korea would be his “most urgent problem.”

The Trump administration has taken Obama’s warning seriously and so far has done two things. First, they have established a midrange missile defense system in South Korea. Second, as Secretary Tillerson reported on his first trip to China, “We renewed our determination to work together, to convince the North Korean government to choose a better path and a different future for its people.” There is no doubt China holds a potential key to success in North Korea.

The bottom line is that all sanctions and diplomatic attempts applied by all previous administrations have failed to get North Korea’s attention. We cannot allow North Korea to be able to have the means to deliver a devastating blow to South Korea, Japan, or, for that matter, the United States.

Many have argued, including Obama and Hillary, that we should never have been in Iraq in the first place. I am willing to concede that point. However, that does not address some of Obama’s decisions regarding Iraq and Afghanistan that are indeed drawing us into a more protracted war in the Middle East.

After defeating al-Qaida in Iraq at the expense of thousands killed, wounded, or maimed, we should never have left the region without the knowledge that the Iraqi troops were prepared to stand up to future adversaries. I can only imagine how the mothers and fathers of those killed, wounded, or maimed feel about Obama’s decision. Now we are back in trying to clean up the mess.

Obama has repeatedly declared it was not his decision to pull out of Iraq. However, in Leon Panetta’s tell-all book, “Worthy Fights,” he strongly refutes Obama’s claim. He said the Joint Chiefs of Staff and military commanders on the ground strongly advised leaving a “residual force that could provide training and security for Iraq’s military.” Panetta also said, “The White House pushed back,” and he felt the “White House was so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests.”

Panetta revealed that our side’s fear was that Iraq might not be stable enough and could “become a new haven for terrorists to plot attacks against the U.S.” How prophetic is that. Months later that is exactly what transpired. ISIS (“the JV team”) was born, led by a former U.S. prisoner (Baghdadi) and they began marching across Iraq virtually unimpeded. The weak Iraqi army relinquished their weapons and the equipment we had furnished them and ran. The Iraqis were indeed not ready to defend their country, as Panetta and his group had cautioned.

The last troops left Iraq on Dec. 18, 2011. By June 2014 ISIS was in the process of seizing Mosul and other key towns. By November 2014, Obama began sending troops back to Iraq. I have not heard Obama say that he had a new Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq. It is clear that we do not have a Status of Forces Agreement with Syria. Remember, this was the primary reason given by Obama for pulling out of Iraq in the first place.

Today, we again have troops on the ground fighting along with combatants from Iraq, Iran, Russia, the Kurds, and Turkey to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. What happens when ISIS is defeated in Iraq and Syria? Will Iran withdraw or will they continue to influence Iraq and spread their hatred for Israel and the U.S.? Will Russia leave Syria? Will Assad remain in power and will Syria suddenly become a peaceful nation? Will the Kurds and Turkey resolve their differences?

In addition to these questions, the Islamic State is no longer confined to Iraq and Syria. They have spread their tentacles to at least 13 other nations. Nations with large-scale ISIS influence include Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Egypt. Knowing all the facts, how can Trump be blamed and held accountable for any of this? It had its beginning under previous administrations.

Some may say let’s get out and let them fight their own wars. However, as we saw in London, ISIS claimed credit for a homegrown ISIS convert who carried out the attack that fits perfectly with their new protocols — using trucks, cars, knives, etc. Attacks using trucks and cars have occurred in Nice, France with 84 killed and 200 wounded; Berlin, Germany with 12 killed and 48 wounded; Ohio University with 11 wounded; Jerusalem with four killed and 10 wounded; and Quebec with one killed and one wounded.

With ISIS-inspired attacks using trucks, cars, and knives around the world, it is not easy to ignore and just take our troops home. We tried that once. It is, indeed, all a really big “mess.” Now Trump and his advisers have to pick up the pieces. It all is a very tenuous situation that the Trump administration has inherited.

Les Still is a resident of Kalispell.