Greg Hunter and I had a spirited debate regarding the recent Iran deal on his website, usawatchdog.com. Grossly oversimplified, Greg opposed the deal while I was in favor of it.
My chief point was that any foreign policy has an economic impact – our assessment of such a policy must integrate its economic consequences. It is not practical to contemplate policies devoid of the financial costs or ramifications of those policies.
I am going to further oversimplify for the purpose of looking at this issue from a very high level:
Following 9-11, the United States adopted what I will call the “Neocon-Israeli strategy” which also dovetailed with the Brzezinski “Grand Chessboard” view.
As described by General Wesley Clark, the US planned to invade seven countries in five years:
We actually followed this approach for eight years, through 2009. The results speak for themselves:
- Trillions of dollars spent (with much of this money missing)
- Millions of lives lost
- The US military bogged down in the Middle East without any of its goals achieved
The global financial crisis slowed the US effort while a new administration tried to pull back from Middle East commitments. Increased domestic oil and gas reserves and a demand for US military presence in Asia meant that US interests were evolving.
So now, the US has exhausted its financial resources on a policy that did not work. The theory that this policy might work in the future is moot: the financial resources required to finance it no longer exist.
Europe is overwhelmed by the blowback from this policy as Middle East refugees pour in every day.
Without debating who or what ISIS is, violence is obviously begetting more violence.
I see no evidence that the NeoCon policy has achieved anything positive for US national security interests. If anything, it has undermined both the fundamental authority and the financial status of the United States globally.
If you support such a policy and believe it should continue, please have the integrity to explain how we should finance it. Should the American people’s 401k’s and Social Security checks be confiscated to keep this policy going?