Moment of Battle

[Mikebert]

(05-09-2016, 11:49 PM)Originally Posted by B Butler  Let\s try the first Gulf War. Wrote:

1. Is a vital national security interest threatened? Yes -- preventing the rapid rise of a dangerous superpower
   [Mike]This is really grasping
   
2. Do we have a clear attainable objective? Yes -- Iraqi armed forces out of Kuwait
   
   
   
3. Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed? Yes -- scrupulously and completely.
   
   
   
4. Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted? Saddam should have taken the Soviet offer.
   
   
   
5. Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement? Saudi Arabia did not want US forces there forever.
   [Mike]Um no there wasn't any exit strategy, hence we got Iraq II.
   
   
   
   
6. Have the consequences of our action been fully considered? Consequences of failure or inaction were worse.
   [Mike]This is a strange point. The outcome of this conflict was crusaders in the Muslim Holy land and the Iraqi embargo (two of the three pretexts given for the al Qaeda-US war.)  Had we done nothing, Bin laden would have likely stayed in Arabia, there would have been no 911, no Afghan war, no Iraq II and no ISIS.
   
   
   
7. Is the action supported by the American people? Definitely.
   
   
   
8. Do we have genuine broad international support? We got UN approval.
   
   [Mike]I can't think any US war since WW II has truly met the Powell Doctrine.  I thought that was the objective of it, to prevent foolish wars like the Gulf War.