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"The quickest way to end a war is to lose it." George Orwell. Setting a timetable is the easiest. That's the plan of the Democratic party. "If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism." Thomas Sowell. That's where we stand today. The choice is simple, but the options are hard.

Of all the options, setting a timetable is by far the worst. The United States has to decide rather it will fish or cut bait. If the war is wrong and consequences acceptable, then we should leave, not on a timetable, but now. If we have no better option than continuing the fight, we must stay for the long haul. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke. Setting a deadline down the road accomplishes nothing but further suffering.

The problem with a deadline is your enemy knows he will prevail, and just when it will happen. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Napoleon Bonaparte. "We have met the enemy, and it is us." Pogo. If we set deadlines, you can be sure our enemies will applaud our mistake,. The only thing a deadline does is get more people killed in the futile march of time.

This boils down the decision. Either support the Iraqi people as they struggle with sectarian and tribal violence for a decade or more. Or pick up our chips, fold our hand and slink out of the region, with our tails dragging behind us.

Bailing out looks' attractive. It saves American lives and treasure, but it would be a disaster to the Western World. The United States would once again prove to be an unreliable paper tiger,' a nation that can't be trusted. The fertile crescent would explode in unrelenting chaos, death and ethnic cleansing. The death toll would be horrific. Both the Shia and Sunni's believe the others are heretics. There is nothing you would not do when you have God' on your side.

Europe would be forced to turn to Russia for its fuel supply and the Putin government has shown it will use the threat of denying energy to blackmail its opponents. The European Union would face the possibility of an energy cutoff if it acts against Russia's interests. That could lead to the dissolution of the Western Alliance formed at the end of World War Two, and a return to isolationism in the United States. This would be the worst of all possible outcomes.

Learn more about this author, James E. Fish.
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