How all of this Middle East turmoil is going to end is anybody's guess. One thing for certain; this is one of the most dangerous situations that has developed in this most important region of the world in quite some time. In addressing this situation the Obama administration must throw out the current playbook by which irresponsible wars are launched without first using logic and reason. There must be no combat troops sent to Iraq, there must be no bombing of any of its cities, no launching of drones, and none of the usual covert operations to aid one side or the other in this turmoil, when it is not known which side is right and which is wrong.
What this government must do, for once, is something it hasn't done in a very long time. The Obama administration should immediately disconnect the military from this entire process; it has no role to fill in this extremely tenuous situation, not at this time. It's time for this country to show real leadership in this world. It's time to reject militarism and instead use diplomatic, rational-minded strategies to bring about a resolution to this crisis; to find the ways to prevent a Middle East war of monumental proportions; to make certain that some totally reckless action on the part of one of the combatants will not lead to a third world war.
If America wants to ever become a truly exceptional nation and the "greatest country in the world" it now has the chance to do just that by using logic and reason instead of military brute force. And with that in mind, the real question is: does this U.S. government have the ethical and moral capacity to do so?
Michael Payne
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