MARKET WATCH COLUMNIST
“Iraq War do-over? No, thank you”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, June 15, 2014
Quick show of hands: Who wants to send combat troops back into Iraq?
Nobody? That’s right. Nobody at all. Not even former Vice President Dick Cheney or Arizona Sen. John McCain are demanding American boots on the ground — yet.
No sane person could possibly wish for a repeat of the last time we barreled into Baghdad, leaving a decade later with 4,486 American service members killed, many tens of thousands injured (physically and otherwise) and U.S. credibility badly battered around the globe.
Don’t lose sight of that core fact as al-Qaida-inspired ISIL fighters keep advancing toward the Iraqi capital and American political rhetoric grows even louder and hotter than it is.
There’s no denying these ISIL zealots are scary and violent people, committed to imposing horrific Sharia law. There’s also no denying that the American people have given all they care to the cause of creating a Western-friendly government in Iraq.
Been there, done that, ain’t going back no more!
On Friday, Barack Obama made clear that he shares this view. Maybe a few scattered airstrikes. Maybe some passing surveillance or some hit-and-run drone attacks. But nothing that looks anything remotely like what George W. Bush began in 2003.
So feel free to ignore this weekend’s bellowing from Washington. It’s all just anger for politics’ sake. Say a prayer for the poor Iraqis. They could use a little mercy now. But no one in America, Republican or Democrat, really wants an Iraq War do-over, thank you very much. Too bad it didn’t work out better the last time. But eight years on that hopeless errand was more than enough.
WAR CRY
1. Sunni and Shia: Can’t We Get Along
2. Sharia Law and Order
3. Maliki-Talabani: Four More Years
4. Weapons of Mass Repetition
5. Leaving So Soon?
ASKED AND UNANSWERED
First they ignore their parking tickets — now this? Can you tell me again why Russian diplomats should be exempt from Oyster Bay beach fees? . . . Looks Not-So-Great Service? Now that the Huntington tree-trimming firm has admitted violating the state’s prevailing-wage law, will Looks Great Service need to add a couple of words to the company name? . . . The Onionhead religion? Is that really the spiritual practice that United Health Programs forced on employees in Syosset, as an EEOC case now claims? You sure this isn’t an Onion spoof? . . . “NICE and Smart?” Isn’t that the inevitable slogan for Nassau Inter-County Express’ new GoMobile fare app? . . . What sidelined Chrebet’s Steakhouse and Lounge? Was it (a) legitimate enforcement or (b) relentless police harassment? Ex-Jet Wayne Chrebet says (b), though Judge Dennis Hurley is clearly tilting (a) . . . What was harder for Oprah voice-over guy D.B. Sweeney? Getting the OWN Network gig? Or losing his Shoreham-bred LI accent? . . . Will Father’s Day ever be as big as Mother’s Day? What’s all this about men running the world? . . . “Princess Long Island” or “Mistress Long Island”? Are you surprised Jericho-bred Bravo star Casey L. Cohen is now objecting to Life & Style’s claim that she’s involved with married music mogul Jay Z? . . . Summer travel question: Will your bag still fit in the overhead on American, Delta and United? Limits just reduced . . . Why is the grad rate so low at Nassau Community College? How much can be blamed on “prolonged administrative turmoil”? Are students and teachers also to blame? . . . How soon until PETA objects to the use of 10 goats to clear “invasive weeds” from the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in Hyde Park? Don’t you care what’s in those weeds? The goats don’t seem to!
THE NEWS IN SONG
You can only get so much from me
“Help Yourself”
by
Amy Winehouse
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