For the thousandth time: Get OUT of the Middle East

       So now Trump has assassinated General Soleimani, a top Iranian military official behind a long string of attacks on American soldiers and other innocent civilians.  Without a doubt, this guy was a bigtime evildoer, and no one on this side of the ocean will shed a tear over his death.

      But whether this will make the world a more peaceful, stable place is a whole other issue.  Hostilities are ramping up and Iran is again screaming "Death to the USA!".  Meanwhile Trump is vowing, via Twitter, to "HIT VERY FAST AND HARD " (Trump's use of all upper-case, not mine) if they try to retaliate. 

      His rationale was that Soleimani has killed, and plans to kill more, Americans.  Well duh.  If the US government sends American troops to that hellhole called the Middle East, there is a VERY good chance that they could die.  If he's really all that concerned about protecting Americans, then there is a simpler and much more effective way to do it:  just bring them home.

      For most of the last half-century, the U.S. government has been trying to "fix" the Middle East, or make it look more like America, or get rid of terrorism, etc, etc.  And what do we have to show for it?  Well, you got the 9-11 attacks, which killed thousands of our citizens and destroyed Billions of dollars of property.  And even if you exclude 9-11, then you still got tens of thousands of dead US soldiers and $Trillions of dollars of taxpayer money down the drain.  And that's not counting the hundreds of thousands of Middle-Eastern citizens killed and the zillions worth of property destroyed with American bombs and bullets.

     And still, the terrorists run free, killing everybody and destroying everything they get their hands on.  Good job there, US government.

     It's way past time to face the cold hard reality:  The Middle East has been a violent hellhole for over a thousand years, and will continue to be a violent hellhole for at least another thousand years.  There is absolutely nothing the United States can do to change these facts.  It doesn't matter how many live soldiers or taxpayer dollars you shovel at it.  Or how many generals you assassinate.

      And so I propose an alternative strategy:  Get the hell OUT of the Middle East.  Bring the troops home - ALL of them.  Let those violent warlords on the other side of the world destroy themselves with their endless wars, while we watch from the sidelines.  Abide by the wise counsel of our founding father George Washington, who urged "peace and honest commerce with all nations, entangling alliances with none."  Revert the military back to its one and only Constitutionally prescribed duty of protecting Americans on American soil.

      But of course you won't hear that from either of the two ruling political parties here in America.  The Democrats make a feeble complaint now and then about trying to play world cop, but no Democrat in recent history has really done anything about it.  Foreign military deployments increased or remained constant under Obama, Bill Clinton, and the others.

      Meanwhile, the Republicans continue their obsession with trying to make America into a global military empire, using taxpayer dollars and live soldiers.  What I find particularly disturbing, however, is how the Evangelical Christians cheer on the Republican warmongers.  My Bible specifically quotes Jesus saying: "Blessed are the peacemakers".  Even in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, God warns the people against putting their faith in trust into political rulers. 

      Leading the Republican charge into global war is none other than Mister Wishy-Washy himself: Donald Trump.  He changes his foreign policy rhetoric about a hundred times a day, depending on who the audience is and what he just watched on TV.  Since the first day of his campaign, he has vacillated back and forth between "ending these endless wars" and promoting yet more endless wars.  He rightfully scathed Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush for supporting the 2003 Iraqi invasion, and then selects another Iraqi war supporter - Pence - for his veep.  He surrounds himself with ex-military generals and warmongers like Michael Bolton for advisors.  He takes July 4, originally a day set aside to celebrate liberty and limited government, and turns it into a day of military worship, marching troops and all.

      Incidentally, Trump's timing is suspicious.  He was just impeached by the House, and in a few months he faces re-election.  Does this sound like the tail wagging the dog?

      Many nations all thru history have tried to become bigger and stronger by fighting lots and lots of wars.  Reality check: it doesn't work.  Never has, never will.  Let's all learn the lessons of history.