Soap Box

When George Washington left office one thing he emphasized emphatically was for America to stay out of the affairs of other nations, good advice then, good advice now.

However, things were a lot simpler in Washington's day before rapid travel, global business ties and military alliances have drawn the world's significant powers into International confederations and protection pacts, social ideologies and religious fanaticism muddied the waters.

I believe the Second World War was a noble undertaking, putting an end to a cruel and ruthless dictator who had designs on flying a swastika over the whole world and defeating the Japanese, who instigated the war in the Pacific by attacking the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.

I came up in the patriotic days of World War II when our whole nation was involved in the war effort and did not question the purpose of the war we were fighting. The reasons were well known and almost universally considered just and urgently necessary.

When the Korean War started, I don't think most Americans questioned the motives but at the same time didn't really understand why we were involved in a war so far removed from us and our interests and as it wore on and became evident that we were not trying to win, it became a bone of contention with two schools of thought, one defending, one condemning, in my opinion, the advent of serious distrust in our government when it came to committing American troops.

We all know about the generational and social rifts brought on by the Vietnam War, the dissent, the political battles and the eventual pull out of American troops leaving yet another Asian country divided and devastated and American opinion fragmented, social mores altered and never to be the same.

When the Iranians overran our embassy in Tehran in 1980 taking the staff hostage and defying any effort by President Jimmy Carter to free them through negotiation and the embarrassing rescue attempt that never even got off the ground, America got mad and Ronald Reagan was swept into office with the hostages being released before he even moved into the White House without a shot being fired I think America felt somewhat vindicated.

I feel our involvement In Serbia, Somalia and Kosovo was never adequately explained to the American people and we don't know exactly what, if any purpose we served by being there.

We had to attack Afghanistan for the express purpose of destroying a clear and present danger to the Homeland, but in my opinion we should have been completely out of there years ago and having to go into Iraq twice, when we could have destroyed Saddam Hussein and every weapon he had the first time was a costly mistake.

But it seems the last half of the 21st century has cast America in the role of international police force and we are expected to take the lead in conflicts that are not a direct threat to the Homeland or our interests, the proxy army for nations who, for political and practical reasons can't or won't deal with the trouble in their own back yard.

And when the shoe is on the other foot, put forth only a cursory, cosmetic effort to assist us, coalition members in name only, lukewarm and ineffective.

The commanding officer in Kosovo told me that the French who were supposedly part of the joint operation there, refused to even come out of their compound to help quell a riot in one of the towns.

Why should America be expected to take the lead in conflicts that are in someone else's back yard, conflicts which have no direct bearing on the American Homeland and American interests?

And why do we feel that we have to establish and maintain a political process and support political administrations that are corrupt and turn against us as soon as we serve their purposes.

All the lives and treasure we've expended in Afghanistan will become null and void a year after we pull the last of America's forces out and will go right back to being the same backward, third world country ruled by tribes and warlords.

Iraq is already falling into radical Islamic control and had we destroyed Saddam Hussein and all his weapons the first time we were there, we could have saved many American lives and Iraq would have been none the worse off than the shape we leave them in now.

I believe America should identify our true allies, dissolve military ties with all the others, and proclaim to the world that our allies and us are strictly off limits and let the rest of the world fend for itself, as opposed to defending fair weather friends who soon become our enemies.

When we fight we should go in, take care of business and pull out leaving the form and make up of the resulting government up to the individual nations. Hit hard, destroy the enemy and get the heck out of Dodge.

America has the ability to create and maintain the most technologically advanced, fully equipped and best-trained military force on the planet, always ready for rapid deployment to any part of the world where our direct interests are threatened.

Despite the present administration's ridiculous reticence to the Keystone Pipeline and stubbornness to exploration on federal land, America can become totally energy independent and we have the fertile land and manufacturing capacities to produce an ample food and goods without having to import an angle barrel of oil or ton of grain.

There is much sword-rattling going on around the world. China is in a huff about Obama meeting with the Dali Llama, which they view, as tantamount to declaring America's support for Tibetan independence.

I think Russia will soon deal with the Ukrainian situation, very possibly with military action.

We know we have many blood enemies in the Middle East and North Korea is about as predictable as a West Texas wind.

Lots of trouble spots, lots of potential for the shedding of American blood and lots of fights we don't even have a dog in.

Isn't it time we tended to our own business for a few decades and let the rest of the world so the same.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels​