What history tells us……….

I’ve always had a huge interest in history. I think history can show us so much about where we have been. Repeatedly I think that mankind is in a unique situation that has never occurred in the past. Repeatedly I find that most of the “unique situations” that I believe we are in have been encountered time and time again.

When casting my opinions on political issues I’ve tried to avoid the sticky situation that the war in Iraq has become. With the upcoming elections, this is one of the hottest topics on the political chopping block. At this point, I believe that it’s very important that we “stay the course” and see things through in Iraq. No matter how bad the media portrays things, the fact remains that we are fighting Muslim extremism in their own backyard instead of ours. Yes, I do believe that mistakes were made after the invasion of Iraq, the biggest one being the disbanding of the regular Iraqi military. This left hundreds of thousands of unemployed, trained, and disgruntled fighting men with few options. Without going into detail, I think history can teach us important lessons that still apply today. I heard an interesting story I heard on a talk show tonight.

I think knowing the resumes of who you are voting for is one of the most important things. During the height of the Cold War, in 1983, Senator Ted Kennedy was at odds with how President Regan was handling the Soviets. Kennedy was under the belief that the President’s actions would lead to nuclear war with the Soviets. Mr. Kennedy was under such conviction that he actually approached the Soviet leaders (through an intermediary) and offered to help improve the Soviet image in the American media. The hope was to influence the 1984 presidential elections and undermine Reagan’s policies with the Soviets. The same Regan policies that eventually defeated Communism and brought an end to the Cold War. Of course today Senator Kennedy denies he ever did this, but KGB documentation that was recently declassified confirms that he did indeed approach the Soviets with these propositions. I find it disgusting that someone would go so far to prove themselves right to go behind the back of the nation and the actively work to undermine the policies of the president. I can see this at work today in the media and I think you should carefully consider this when you go out to the polls Tuesday.

I can’t say that I agree with everything President Bush has done, but I do respect that he commits and refuses to back down from the policies that he believes are for the good of the country, despite the storm of criticism from the media and his opponents. As history shows us, that can be a rare attribute in politics. I am downright frightened by some of the changes I’m seeing in how governments around the world deal with “rouge state”. I find it asinine that people think through diplomacy and appeasement we can somehow solve all our differences with terrorist states. History has shown time and time again that appeasement does not work, and the suggestion that we try to negotiate with terrorist states keeps being brought up. Let’s see how long it works for the EU.