TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Whenever there is a conflict between nations, the core of the problem is always found in incompetent leaders who are incapable or unwilling to do their jobs. Regardless of the nation, all Presidents, Prime Ministers, or whatever they are called, have the same responsibilities: improve the lives of their country’s citizens, and ensure their safety. My country, the United States of America, has devolved over the last 40+ years. Our Founding Fathers created a nation ruled by the people, not autocrats. However, since the Ronald Reagan era, our elected officials consider themselves rulers, not public servants. They ignore our needs and wishes and serve their own ambitions. No one in Washington can be trusted or respected in the 21 st century. Israel received “Statehood” from the United Nations in 1948. Their neighbors in the region, Palestinians, requested the same status, but have been ignored for the last 75 years. There have been moments in my life when the pos

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   America’s government loves wars. According to politicians, “they are good business.” However, since the 1950’s our military has proven that we are not very good at military confrontations. In fact, we have lost every war since WWII. The wars waged by our government have cost much more than the lives of our finest young men and women, they have prevented funding for social programs which would greatly improve the lives of all Americans. The cost of waging war has damaged the quality of life for every working class American for decades. Waging unwinnable wars has divided our nation and destroyed faith in leadership; deservedly so. Loss of life WWII until today. WWII, 405,399 Korean Conflict, 36,516 Vietnam War, 58,220 Gulf War, 294 Afghanistan, 2,325 Iraq, 4,492 If I eliminate WWII, a conflict not initiated by the United States, I ask a fair question: “what did our nation accomplish in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, or Iraq? The truth is, we left eac