I am not surprised by the fainting couch reaction from many people when I suggest that, considering the war has been won, we bring our troops home. They raise a whole host of arguments of how doing so will cause Iraq to somehow become worse than the hellhole it was under Saddam Hussein, which is a bizarre point considering that an Iraq under Iranian or Syrian or Saudi Arabian domination is precisely NO more dangerous in a world that already has Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
But let’s forget Iraq for now. Can we at least agree that Japan is unlikely to fall under the control of neighboring jihadists? Can we bring our troops home from there? No? Okay, how about Germany? No? Italy? Belgium? Can’t we at least bring our troops home from freaking Belgium?
Americans absolutely hate to be told that they have constructed an Empire, but assuredly, future historians will regard it as one. Yes, it’s a virtual empire of sorts, but it’s real for all of that. And, as every student of Rome knows, empire follows republic just as collapse into barbarism follows empire. From economics to shifting social mores, I see absolutely no sign that America is not following this historical progression.