Humanitarianism and Mission Creep
The headline reads, "President Obama authorizes airstrikes against Iraq militants if necessary to prevent potential genocide against religious minorities; says US conducted humanitarian aid drop."
Forty thousand Iraqis fled to a mountain top to avoid slaughter by the militant radical Islamic ISIS. Their choice was death at the hands of ISIS or starve on the mountain top. After much thought Obama opted for air drops of food, water, and supplies to the religious refugees as a humanitarian gesture.
Well and good. Humanitarianism is a good thing. However, this is how we have come to be militarily engaged in other peoples fights in the past. What happens if a Russian made rocket shoots down one of the air cargo airplanes delivering goods to the suffering people? What happens if the air strikes are met with resistance and one or more of our aircraft are shot down and the pilots captured by ISIS? What happens if they are held as hostages? Or worse, if they are publicly beheaded and the video shown on social media? What happens if some of the 800 military personnel we already have on the ground in Iraq come under ISIS enemy fire? What happens if one or more of them are captured? The list of possibilities goes on and on. Has our erst while leader considered all these potential events and what our reaction will be?
These are the kind of events that gradually increase our response to unforeseen and unplanned for circumstances causing what is known as "mission creep," the gradual escalation of military involvement until we are engaged in a full time military engagement, i.e. war.
Are we as a nation prepared for another round of full scale war in the Middle East? Is Obama capable as a war time Commander-in-Chief?
Forty thousand Iraqis fled to a mountain top to avoid slaughter by the militant radical Islamic ISIS. Their choice was death at the hands of ISIS or starve on the mountain top. After much thought Obama opted for air drops of food, water, and supplies to the religious refugees as a humanitarian gesture.
Well and good. Humanitarianism is a good thing. However, this is how we have come to be militarily engaged in other peoples fights in the past. What happens if a Russian made rocket shoots down one of the air cargo airplanes delivering goods to the suffering people? What happens if the air strikes are met with resistance and one or more of our aircraft are shot down and the pilots captured by ISIS? What happens if they are held as hostages? Or worse, if they are publicly beheaded and the video shown on social media? What happens if some of the 800 military personnel we already have on the ground in Iraq come under ISIS enemy fire? What happens if one or more of them are captured? The list of possibilities goes on and on. Has our erst while leader considered all these potential events and what our reaction will be?
These are the kind of events that gradually increase our response to unforeseen and unplanned for circumstances causing what is known as "mission creep," the gradual escalation of military involvement until we are engaged in a full time military engagement, i.e. war.
Are we as a nation prepared for another round of full scale war in the Middle East? Is Obama capable as a war time Commander-in-Chief?
posted by Donald G Davidson at 11:50 PM
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