Less Secure at Home from Individual Vengeance Seekers

Rand Paul describes the latest budget as the compromise of Neocon Republicans looking for greater arms spending and welfare Democrats looking to provide more social services. If we are truly desirous of reducing government and its spending then our foreign policy must focus on issues where we can be effective and economical. To paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt; we already have the world’s biggest stick so that we should speak softly and know when and how to use it.

Harvard Professor Nicholas Burns in his editorial “Talk to Tehran, But Talk Tough” speaks of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran and its role in the killing of Americans in Iraq, directing Hezbollah in Lebanon to fight for Assad in Syria and backing the Houthis in Yemen as if he did not understand Iran’s motivation, defending the Shiite sect of Islam from Sunni Arabs.  First, it’s incredible that a career American diplomat not see this key to reducing emotions in the Middle East.  Second, by being blind to it makes for taking sides in a regional civil war where our big stick just exacerbates and inflames the region even more and makes us less secure at home from individual vengeance seekers and more indebted to the money lenders.

Not taking sides means for us to ratchet back our relations with Saudi Arabia to cool.  Our fracking oilmen have provided us an era of energy independence in the U.S. where we can correctly assess the House of Saud. Its a regime with so many conflicting issues and a propensity to indecision leading to chaos that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears logical and organized in comparison. Many will say that Saudi Arabia is a cornerstone of stability in the region. But do we need to repeat President Jimmy Carter’s experience where he was advised to declare the very same about the Shah of Iran months before he fell and Iran became an implacable enemy?  With Saudi air strikes in Yemen to push back Shiite Houthi and the execution of a Shiite Cleric increasing sectarian tensions combined with oil prices that will make its social contract of distributing largess difficult and finally a geriatric royal lineage with thousands of contenders makes for an alliance with a bleak future. Coincidentally stocking the Saudi arsenal with our latest gear is the same as letting a fleet of F14 fighter bombers, our latest at the time and the same plane featured in the 1980’s movie “Top Gun”, to fall into the Ayatollah’s hands.

Nicholas Burns is not a Neocon.  His analysis is restrained and measured yet his blindness to Iran’s motive leads to the same policies of inflaming the Middle East whether by a seasoned Hillary Clinton or over the top Neocon coached GOP hopefuls such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Chris Christie. Reducing our arms spending requires a Department of State that better assesses not only the true motives of the nation states but whether they truly are nations.  For example Syria, Iraq and Libya are tribal groups whose populace has little regard for nation and a primary loyalty to family and clan.  Wasting our blood and treasure trying to keep these states unified exposes us to the humiliation of the World witnessing us wield our big stick for no good result.