I believe it is time to declare an end to war. Since recorded history, countries have used their military might to impose their will on other nations. The reasons differ, but the use of an on-the-ground, massive military force has always been with us.
I believe it is time for our country to reject any military mission requiring large numbers of on-the-ground troops.
We can do this and still accomplish our national goals because our country is the only superpower in the world, and the U.S. can dominate every country in the world militarily and economically. It should be obvious; if we want to impose our will on other nations, we have the clout to do it without using large numbers of on-the-ground troops. The use of American troops in a hostile country automatically results in thousands of American casualties, and it is time to reject that outcome.
In the past, we have been quick to use our military might to achieve our national goals, and we have done this without giving economic strangulation, overwhelming air power, and Special Forces strikes an opportunity to resolve whatever issues we felt were a threat to our national security. Saddam Hussein, Moammar Gadhafi and other low-rent dictators could have been eliminated without committing American ground forces.
Speaking as a parent whose son served in Afghanistan as a Special Forces soldier, I believe we could have accomplished more by a combination of an economic blockade, a severe aerial bombardment, and Special Forces strike missions than we achieved by the large-scale commitment of ground forces.
Consider the current state of three countries we have invaded: Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Do you really think we accomplished our stated goals by using large numbers of ground troops? How could we have possibly done worse than the outcome of those wars? Don't you think economic strangulation, air power, and Special Forces attacks could have accomplished more? Certainly, thousands of American lives would have been saved, and we couldn't possibly have had a worse outcome.
Today, our nation has reached an unheard-of plateau of military might and economic power. We have the means to impose our will on every nation, and, if we use our resources wisely, we can do this without putting thousands of American soldiers on the ground risking death.
We do have the obligation to protect freedom, but we do have another obligation. That paramount obligation is to protect the lives of every American by not putting them in harm's way. We can do both. Yes, without risking large numbers of young American lives, we can influence or actually impose our will on any country.
Why subject thousands of young men and women to the dangers of modern warfare when we don't have to? If we really believe we are economically connected to the rest of the world, as New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote in The World is Flat, then, just by being the premier economic powerhouse, we have the leverage to impose our will on other nations.
Obviously, we must have the patience and courage to tighten the economic strangulation of a rogue nation until submission to our nation's will is achieved.
By having an overwhelming military threat and by imposing economic sanctions, we have prevented Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Yes, there are some who doubt, but the fact is, if we so desire, we can isolate Iran into total submission. If we detect nuclear activity, we can tighten the screws economically until it is only a matter of time until total capitulation.
We must develop a well-thought-out and aggressive foreign policy directed at rouge nations, as threatening as an array of intercontinental ballistic missiles, but one that excludes "boots-on-the-ground." The overwhelming military might that rests in our Air Force and Special Forces troops, combined with our economic power, can bring any enemy country to its knees. We have the ability to send any nation on earth economically or physically back to the Stone Age, if we so desire.
I believe our country has reached a point in history where we must put the inevitable deaths of thousands of American soldiers and untold numbers of enemy combatants in the dustbin of history.
If we consider the cost in dollars and in human lives, we will reject putting a large number of combat troops on the ground when our country can achieve its goals by using lightning-strike Special Forces, Air Force drones, and a viselike economic choke to bring any country in the world to its knees.
It takes a Stone Age mentality to advocate an invasion of Iran when we can send Iran back to the economic Stone Age using our economic power. We have long passed the time when it makes sense to send the Marines to the shores of Tripoli.
Richard Mason of El Dorado is president of Gibraltar Energy Co., and a former president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation.
Editorial on 08/01/2015