war as an end means

Submitted by richard d. paul (Colombia), Jun 11, 2008 at 10:31

Dear Mr. Pipes,

It is always amazing to me to read articles and comments from people with your background who believe that by going to war all of our problems will be solved. You sir, have never been in the military, have never been in combat, have never smelled death, have never seen a dead adversary lying on the ground dying...and for what cause? If you had done any or all of these, I can assure you, your opinion would be different.

One of the reasons why McCain will not be elected is because he, like you, sees war as an end means. It will not…and has not. Look at what America has been involved with since 1945…military failure after military failure. In Iraq, George Bush duped the U.S. Congress and its equally foolish allies into attacking a sovereign nation based on knowingly false pretenses. Yes, Hussein was a bad guy and hurt his own citizens, but that does not give the President or any other country the right to invade another nation. And now you want to go to war with Iran...why? ... what... of the history of the Persian peoples and their ability to endure for centuries to strike back at their enemies.

Mr. Pipes, before we go to war as you suggest, you should be made to face war yourself first hand. ...

Your article, "Prepare to attack. Only a credible threat can persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear program," shows ... naiveté, Good grief, look at the results of Iraq? You don't prepare to attack someone unless you are fully capable and desirous of waging war. To the rulers in Iran, threats like you suggest will only cause them to choke on their afternoon tea as they laugh at your comments. You don't prepare for war, and you do not make idle and childish threats, nor do you block a nation's ability to trade.

If you want to stop Iran's nuclear escalation then you must be able to sit at the table and negotiate, honestly and not wrangle a series of misguided lies and falsehoods like the U.S. is so adept at doing. You must be prepared for a long protracted negotiation and you must be able to make concessions. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, worry about winning the war and not the battle.

Prepare to attack? A foolish pretense at best.

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