9/11 was a day of dramatic surprises followed by concern and then anger. Watching on television the hits on the towers of the World Trade Center was like movie fiction and yet it was true.
The news of the hit on the Pentagon later became a major concern because my son’s 1st Helicopter Squadron flew there as part of their routine. By the second day, the surprise and concern turned into a deep anger at the terrorists that had dared to come into our space and do this.
Immediate steps were taken to find and punish Osama Bin Laden who was identified as the author of the attack on the United States. He was located in Afghanistan, a failed state involved in a civil war between the Taliban and a rebel group called the Northern Alliance.
Our leadership initially followed our instincts for payback until they did not. What started out as a hunt for Osama Bin Laden turned into a policy of regime change that led to utter failure.
The tendency for American direct involvement in defending or changing governments goes all the way back at least to Korea. In that case, we successfully helped to defend South Korea to its 38th Parallel demarcation line and then decided to use our troops to invade all of the Korean penin- sula only to lose to the Chinese hordes.
Similarly in Vietnam, we sent over a half million draftees to fight for a regime that could not defend itself and again lost. The 58 thousand plus dead and the countless wounded became a sad commentary of our failure.
America and its coalition partners’ 100-hour 1991 Gulf War on behalf of the oil rich Middle Eastern countries threatened by Iraq led to a second Iraqi war for the purpose of regime change. The blood and treasure spent on that endeavor resulted in a chaotic aftermath that saw a deadly insurgency and ISIS that is still tormenting the area.
What has worked for the United States and its allies is the support for countries that have the will and are fully committed to defending their independence and democratic principles without regard to outside military intervention. This has been the case with Israel that has had to defend the country a number of times since their independence proclamation on May 14, 1948.
Ukraine is another great example of a country and a people committed and able to preserve their way of life and grow their democratic principles. They do not need foreign troops to come and fight on their soil.
What Israel has needed over the years has been the ability to receive and effectively use the latest military equipment and technology available from friendly countries. This is also what Ukraine currently needs and what America and its allies have been providing.
The face of military intervention in Ukraine is different by far from the images of American soldiers fighting in Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. The images of assistance to the country is more like what President Roosevelt defined as neighbors helping neighbors.
Ukraine finds itself in a critical moment that is its counter offensive. Much rides on the military supply help that the United States and its NATO allies can provide.
We should not allow our political differences and divisions at home influence our assistance to the defense of Ukraine. The economic and political presence of a successful Ukraine represents a major contribution to free people and a great return on our investment.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
