Brian L. Carter – 9/6/06

This page was last updated on September 6, 2006.

Real mess in Middle East; Brian L. Carter; Beaver County Times; September 6, 2006.

Though this is at least the third letter from Mr. Carter since November 2005, this is only the second letter I chose to critique.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“With the uproar in Iran escalating, it is impossible to ignore if we are or are not prepared for a conflict.

“When Sept. 11, 2001, happened it was a no-brainer to go after those who brought it about.”

[RWC] Except for those on the left who blamed us for the attacks.

“We went into Afghanistan, dethroned the Taliban and the world understood and applauded.”

[RWC] Uh, yeah, sure.

“We let up, let Osama bin Laden slip by, and now the Taliban is regaining its monstrous foothold in that country.”

[RWC] Who let up? Though not a direct comparison, it took law enforcement five years to find an abortion clinic bomber in North Carolina even though they knew the general area where he was hiding. The area along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border where people believe bin Laden is hiding is far larger and he has a lot of sympathizers in the area.

If Taliban being killed by the hundreds counts as “regaining its monstrous foothold,” perhaps Mr. Carter is right.

“Then, inexplicably and with merely a wisp of international support, and for reasons now that have proven to be lies, we entered Iraq and destabilized a region that now brinks on civil war. We have hundreds of thousands of troops stationed there, and there appears to be no end in sight.”

[RWC] “Proven to be lies?” What must it be like to live in Mr. Carter’s mind? Testimony before Congress and at least two bipartisan Congressional investigations concluded no one misrepresented pre-war intelligence.

“We … destabilized a region?” When in our lifetime has the Middle East ever been “stable?”

If less than 150,000 troops counts as “hundreds of thousands of troops,” I guess Mr. Carter is correct. Note that Mr. Carter doesn’t seem to be concerned about the 100,000+ troops in Europe, Japan, and South Korea. Why no call for an exit strategy from these sites?

“If Iran’s president has his way, we will have a war that circles the globe and brings ruin on all populations.”

[RWC] I believe there’s a typo in this sentence. I’m sure Mr. Carter meant to write, “If President Bush has his way …” <g>

“Do we have the troops necessary to stop this madman? Or will we be caught with our pants down with most of our troops fighting a ridiculous and unnecessary war?”

[RWC] “Caught with our pants down?” Is that what you call 150,000 combat troops on one side of Iran and 20,000 on the other?

“We should focus our national resources on those issues that really matter and not on expanding the coffers of those who hungrily embrace war.”

[RWC] Note that Mr. Carter doesn’t tell us which “issues … really matter.” He also doesn’t give us the names “of those who hungrily embrace war.”