Embolden

President Bush, August 30, 2006: "Last week, President Bush said that setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal would embolden the enemy and cause chaos in Iraq."

If the United States wins in Iraq, will that embolden the United States to invade other countries? If the United States wins in Iraq with a loss of ONLY five thousand military dead, those who are embolden might seek another war that would be a disaster and cost tens of thousands of military lives. It might be to a country's benefit in the long run to lose a war if it prevents them from plunging recklessly into a disastrous conflict. On the other hand, if the United States loses or ties in Iraq, they will likely do what they did after Korea and Vietnam. They will continue to seek redemption, power, and glory.

During the past 195 years no American military personnel have been killed in the United States defending the United States from foreign invaders. During the past 195 years there has been no combat medals for bravery awarded to United States military personnel for combat action in the United States. All of the commendations during the past 195 years have been awarded for action on foreign soil. The last time the United States was invaded by a foreign country was the War of 1812, and then only after America declared war on the English and invaded Canada. Some territories of the United States were attacked during WW II, but the Continental United States has not been invaded. If the war between the states is counted as a civil war then it is not a war with a foreign country. If on the other hand the southern states was a separate country who had declared their independence, then that is a completely different circumstance and an opportunity to talk about the rights of states to declare their independence.

With two vast oceans as two borders and two friendly nations on the other two borders, the United States has little to fear from a foreign invasion. Who has a navy large enough? Still the war crowds cheer to support our troops, who are in other countries making more enemies, which make more soldiers necessary. Its like lawyers and police trying to make more laws so it will create more jobs for the lawyers and police. The more enemies America has the more profits for the military industrial complex. Our danger is not from foreign armies but our own standing army that needs a purpose.

The United States has been a beacon of liberty since its creation. Tyrants the world over shuddered in fear at our Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights. Popes, Caliphs and Kings fear words and ideas more than they fear foreign armies, which is why people who speak out end up in dungeons. Foreign armies are only fuel to fire loyalty of the masses. President Bush uses foreign armies as fuel to scare Americans into paying more and more for less and less protection.

Bilbo Baggins.