If not McCain, then who? The man is not perfect. He has made mistakes. He works hard, but his independence and ego have alienated many politicians in his own party. But, in the current line-up of flawed Presidential candidates, he may be the only one who has the stamina, guts and brains to lead the US out of its international quagmire.

Since World War II, the country has fought three major wars: Korea, Vietnam and the ongoing Middle East mess. The US has not won any of them. The cost in lives, national reputation and material resources has been staggering, and today there is no end in sight of the terrible waste. Through political and military ignorance, the wars were fought with restrictions that guaranteed defeat, and it is no different today.

Inadequate support for the military in every conflict since World War II has caused unnecessary casualties, prolonged deployments and cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. And it is all ongoing today because our political leaders are either unaware of the inevitable consequences or never learn from past obvious mistakes, or both.

John McCain is the only current Presidential candidate who knows about fighting useless wars from personal experiences. Five years of brutal treatment in an enemy prison taught him how wasteful his government was to send its best young men to fight without adequate support nor any intelligent plan to win.

If John McCain is elected President, at least there is hope that he will use his experience and ability to find a way to end the endless wars. The question is: will he have the guts to confront America's enemies with the only two ways to do it? Total peace or total war. Will he offer to take US troops away from the war zones, thus saving the useless daily casualties and constant drain on the military and citizens?

If the violence stops, will he then offer to turn the considerable US resources from wasteful war to helping people in the Middle East to recover from endless conflict and to build positive economic and social institutions?

If the violence doesn't stop, will he then apply all of the US resources to take the decisive actions necessary to fight and win quickly and decisively?

There is actually no other choice, except to see the violence continue indefinitely. Or worse, the US will go on fighting useless wars until one or more rogue countries develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems that will make the September 11 attack on the US seem, by comparison, like a minor incident.

No one can be sure if John McCain could be the first President since Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman with the guts to make the right decisions about total peace or total war. But, if not McCain, who?

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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