Israel: the West Berlin of the Middle East

At the conclusion of World War 2 in Europe, it was clear the Soviets had out-thought, out-maneuvered and out-planned Allied Forces with their post-war vision of Europe.

For many of the countries occupied by both the Germans and the Soviets, there was little to differentiate the two... where the similarities far outweighed the differences.

We found ourselves warn down and tired... like Americans so frequently do in situations like this.

We were sick of war.  We were sick of sacrifice.  We were sick of casualties... We wanted out as fast as possible.

And by out, I mean of Europe; a devastated, starving, impoverished continent; many parts of which contended with a destroyed infrastructure, a complete inability to sustain an economy, political unrest and instability... and the list goes on and on.

Many of the people instrumental in getting us into World War Two, unprepared and short sighted, were now clamoring for us to get out of Germany and just let the Soviets have it... or all of Europe, for that matter.  The immediate threat, that of the Germans, had been eliminated.  Our so-called Allies, the Russians, were just a big ol' friendly bear who wouldn't hurt a fly.

Of course, many forget that Russia actually acted more as a German ally then an enemy when Germany invade Poland back in September of  '39.  They had made a deal that bought Hitler time, and he, effectively, split Poland with the Russians.

And, we just forget the Russian purges, the movement and subrogation and deaths of millions as the result of a different self-aggrandizing, paranoid freak named Stalin.  In the end, he turned out to be "our guy," to a certain extent, and every drop of Russian blood spilled on the Eastern Front was a drop we didn't have to spill on the Western Front... or so the equation went.

The United States enjoyed a window... a  window of about 5 years, from 1945 to 1950, where we were the only nuclear power on earth.  We had the ability to end the Soviet Union, end the communist government in China, end the Iron Curtain, and set up democracy in Eastern Europe and Asia, freeing hundreds of millions from enslavement.

Had we taken those steps, it's likely historic events would have been decidedly different.

No Korean War.  No Vietnam War.  Likely no Desert Storm or Shield would have been necessary... and we wouldn't be abandoning Iraq because, well, we have a president who wants to be re-elected more than he wants to do what has to be done... if he had a clue what that is.

As bad as it was, fortunately for us, there WAS a small group within government who carried just enough sway to keep us in Berlin.

There was a group convinced that our continued presence in that city at that time was a crucial element in stopping Soviet consolidation.  The Russian did almost everything they could think of to kick us out, a small group of people with the sense and the vision to see the future did everything they could to keep us there.

Well, we know now how that all worked out, don't we?

That said, I see Israel as our West Berlin.  The only island of democracy in the entire Middle East, the loss of this country to muslim extremism and Obama's expediency would allow the muslim world to consolidate, strengthen and grow... with cataclysmic results.

We were faced with the opportunity in Iraq.  But stupidity and a failure to learn from our past mistakes will turn Iraq into yet another post-US involvement bloodbath.  We are not done in the region... by a long shot.  Much of the blood remaining to be spilled is American and our few, ever-shrinking number of remaining Allies.

With Israel, we have the opportunity for a continued presence of democracy, freedom, and Western ideals.

Without Israel, we are likely to face a return to those 7th Century ideals rife within the muslim religion today

Isolationists and the ignorant (Paul and Obama, for example) want to see a return to those dark ages.  It will take additional centuries for muslims to come to understand that their lives do not need to be run by other people.  It will take them additional centuries to even begin to understand what democracy can mean, as imperfect a system as it is.

And for those who join with the muslim aim of the destruction of Israel, good luck with that.  Tens of millions of us won't allow that to happen.  And the president's efforts to stop Israel from defending itself from an Iran bent on its destruction make no more sense than England trying to talk us out of attacking a country bent on our destruction.

Israel is our last friend in the region, thanks to our president's incompetence, and they, like us, have the right to defend themselves.  And we have a legal and moral duty to aid in that defense... whatever that takes, however hard it might be.

We fail to take that course at our own peril... as the number of our allies dwindle due to our lack of fortitude and integrity.

And that's a place I don't want to be.