Patrick Henry gave his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in an address to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775. There are so many parts of his speech that are applicable to the national and international events of the day, but in this article, we will focus on his phrase: “Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!”
Yes, there is no peace. In the map above, you can see the attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq, that have occurred since the Israeli Defense forces retaliated against the Hamas massacre of Israeli citizens, by invading the Gaza strip. There have been more attacks on American forces since this map was published; and although injuries to most of the American soldiers have been minor, there have been reports of traumatic brain injuries suffered by some American soldiers.
When Patrick Henry gave his famous speech, the American Revolutionary War against the British was just beginning, but the United States has actually been at war in the Middle East for quite some time. In 2011, shortly after the start of the Syrian civil war, the Obama Administration intervened by placing sanctions against the government of Syria by covertly authorizing Timber Sycamore, under which the CIA armed and trained rebels; and in September 2014, the US officially intervened with the stated aim of fighting the Islamic State as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. In that effort, we also supported Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces opposed to both the Islamic State and the Syrian government. In 2002, then President Bush proposed an invasion of Iraq, and a bipartisan Congress, including then Senator Joe Biden, voted to authorize that war. Now, more than twenty years later, there are reportedly still 2,500 U.S troops scattered around that country.
With our troops being injured and at risk of death, and with the cost of our military presence costing tens of billions of dollars every year, every American should be asking: what are we doing there; what is our goal; are we being effective in achieving our goals; and how long are we staying? Biden’s top general, Mark Milley gave his answer to the last question in August of this year, saying: ““I can’t imagine that the United States would ever walk away from the Middle East. I think we’ll remain committed for many, many years and decades to come.”
What about our goal? If our objective is to protect and spread democracy, then we ought to do everything that we can to help protect and defend Israel, for it is the only (although imperfect) democracy in the Middle East. Otherwise, we are sending our young soldiers to be sitting ducks in a region dominated by dictators, who oppress and suppress their citizens, especially women, homosexuals and Christians. This is an area where there have been centuries of warfare, where the Shiite Muslims, the Sunni Muslims, the Turks, the Kurds, the Russians all hate each other, and invade each other’s territories. And they all hate the Jews!
In our opinion, “defending democracy” doesn’t appear to be the real reason we retain a military presence in the Middle East. A 2019 report Congress funded to examine U.S. policy in Syria argued the following: the United States has "key national security interests at stake" in Syria, and it called on the government to "defend the rules-based international order" in that country and to "maintain pressure" on Iran, "lest [it] build up its strategic capabilities." The Associated Press, this March, put it this way: “ISIS is "the much-stated reason for the continued U.S. troop presence…but a key reason is Iran."
We also note that, in response to the attacks on our military bases in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon has carried out a number of “precision” airstrikes against targeted facilities "used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups" believed behind most of the attacks on US installations in Iraq and Syria.
So, if Iran is really the problem, the prime instigator of war in the Mid East, what does Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, think about peace with Israel? In 2000, he stated that “the cancerous tumor called Israel must be uprooted from the region”, and in 2001 he proclaimed that “the perpetual subject of Iran is the elimination of Israel from the region”. [In 2013 he labeled Israel a country "doomed to failure and annihilation," deeming it an "illegitimate regime" led by "untouchable rabid dogs" who "cannot be called human beings." He later outlined a nine-point plan for Israel's elimination in 2014. Well, at least he’s consistent. There have been numerous news reports confirming that it was Iran that trained and funded the Hamas attack on Israel, and it is Iran that funds the terrorist Hezbollah organization that threatens Israel from Lebanon.
We have said it any times before - wars are extremely expensive; so why in the world would we ever help Iran by shoveling them billions of US dollars? It is a sad fact - just 40 days after Hamas’ brutal massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis, including 33 Americans on Oct. 7, the Biden administration extended a sanctions waiver that will allow Iran to access $10 billion in previously frozen funds.
We’re big fans of US Senator Bill Hagerty from Tennessee, who has been a thoughtful leader in opposition to President Biden’s Mid-Eastern policies. We’ll end this article with a quote from a speech he recently gave on the Senate floor: “Ninety-three percent of Hamas’s funding comes from Iran. The Biden Administration’s refusal to enforce sanctions on Iran has resulted in tens of billions of dollars in additional oil revenue for the regime since President Biden took office. The Iranian regime uses this additional revenue to provide funding, arms, and technology to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”
We urge interested readers to take the time to follow the links below. In the first, you can see the text of a recent speech by Senator Hagerty on the Senate floor. The second link will take you to a copy of the full Patrick Henry speech. In the third, you can see an interview with Senator Hagerty on the Fox Business network show, Morning With Maria.
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