BOOTS ON GROUND

For several years American elected officials have been considering options in the Middle East in the face of various violent problems created by opponents of American "nation-building." 

The Middle East has not proven to be the land of milk toasts. Most of apparently progressing nations have been ruled by "strong men" such as Saddam Hussein. There does not appear to be any good option when cutting off heads and burning foes alive seem reasonable political expressions of opposition.

Therefore, to undo the damages done by removing a strong man who "ruled with an iron fist," the American presidents - with the advice of the Pentagon brass and variously placed U.S. advisors - usually have decided that American "boots" must be sent to "walk the walk" of American policy-makers. Soldiers in various units have been sent to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, et al, to gain some semblance of Western-style order. After all, how can you create a democracy in chaos?

The United States then established a puppet to be the face of democracy in the "rescued" nation. Serious, violent opposition then arose to fight the American puppet. American soldiers must fight the "now you see them, now you don't" opposition. Deaths among the U.S. soldiers grow as the years go by. For some reason the people don't rally behind the American puppet, who also now wars against religious "heretics" in very brutal fashion. Fraud and massive theft of money and war materiel shock U.S. officials some of whom have not participated in the looting. At home people have become concerned by the open-ended war, the accumulating dead soldiers, and the rising debt required to pay for it all.

"Why were we here?" ask many. "What was our interest?"

Since the Middle East policy involved oil and Israel, isn't it appropriate for America to declare that the opposition has been badly wounded and that Israeli "boots" should replace American soldiers in establishing a new peace process for all in the Levant? If Israeli officials want to create a state of hegemony for their nation in the Middle East, they should get their "booties" on it.