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America is talking about war or more specifically whether to go to war. We've got two questions
we all should be asking.
This is the CitizenLink Report.
Hi, I'm Stuart Shepard along with Colonel Bill Spencer who works with our network of
Family Policy Councils around the country. He also is retired from a distinguished career
in the Air Force.
Hi, Colonel Bill.
Hello Stuart.
Bill posted on his Facebook page a couple of questions that's the genesis of this conversation.
I want to be upfront. We're not going to tell you what to think about or what do decide
on the possibility of an attack on Syria. We're going to let you make that decision.
But Bill pointed out two questions that should always be asked before America goes to an
armed conflict anywhere at any time. Let's talk about that. What's the first question?
Well the first question is very simply "When is it victory?" To ask when is the conflict
going to be over is missing the point to some degree. You don't enter into any military
action or use a military instrument of national power without first accessing what victory
looks like. That's a formulation that's kind of tough in some circumstances but it's one
that we should be require our elected officials who hold the Department of Defense and the
Command in Chief responsible for their actions. It's one that we should ask through our media.
It's not a hard question to ask but "when is it victory" is a big question that we need to ask.
It's also a question that typically has not been asked for a very long time. Let's talk
about that.
Certainly, in Korea and the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Libya -- the Libya Action in 1986 under President
Reagan -- Iraq and Afghanistan. These questions haven't been asked to the extent that we really
got an answer. When you ask "when is it victory" you end up with a conflict before you.
If you don't have it answered that ends up being something other than perhaps what you incurred
or what you wanted to go for when you entered into it.
And frankly it seems like common sense and a logical question but it's not one that I've
been hearing the mainstream media ask. Maybe they have but I haven't heard it out there
a whole lot.
We just have so many people in our country that lack military experience or exposure
to the military that they're not asking these kinds of questions. There are other things
they're asking but simply when is it victory is one that needs to be asked.
So the first question: When is it victory? And the second question just as logic.
Not unlike it, "What do you want the world to look like when the military action is over?"
Seems a bit haughty for us to ask that but we're sending our sons and daughters into
combat. We're risking national resources to go after whatever it is we are and we should
understand what that's going to do by solving this problem. Are we going to create others?
What do you want the world to look like after the action is over?
And that involves a large scale examination of everything pretty much. I mean what's going
on within that country and also the nations around it.
We've been told the hypothetical case here pending before us is a small action. I would
suggest to you that those sitting under the bombs that are dropping don't see it as a
small action. Any use of the military instrument of national power should be that of last resort.
Apparently there's some diplomatic channels that have yet to be used and economic channels
are also available to our national command authority. The military instrument should
always be the last used -- the item of last resort. But these questions are essential before we
use those -- that military instrument.
So when it comes to applying this who should be asking those questions and to whom should
those questions be directed?
Well I first taught my middle school students, my high school students, college students
what citizenship was about that included participating in juries when you were called or voting an
informed ballot. But this was also part of it. We hold our elected officials accountable.
Congress is by the constitution required to declare war. Our National Command authority
-- the Commander in Chief and the Secretary of Defense are all held accountable by us
through our media channels. The news media should be asking them and we should be holding
everybody involved in the process responsible. As citizens, that's our responsibility.
It's part of citizenship really.
If you were to summarize this whole thing how would you bring it down just to help us
understand it, absorb it and apply it?
Our dialogue is so polarized in so many ways. These questions aren't rocket science. They're
easy ones to ask but we don't know enough to ask them. As citizens we need to be more
involved in what's going on to be able to know when and how to ask these questions.
I connected with my congressman on them and everyone should. Anyone who's considering
this use of military power whether or not they've have someone involved in the action
themselves. It's everybody's responsibility as a citizen of this country.
Very helpful. Thank you, Bill. Appreciate your insights.
Thanks Stuart.
And thank you for watching. We'd love to hear from you. What do you think about all this?
Send us your notes, your comments, your questions, your criticisms at Mail@CitizenLink dot com.
We encourage you to pray for our elected officials. As we're speaking here they've yet to vote
on this in the house. Pray for them as they make this decision of what they're going to
do and what the nation is going to do.
And remember, Stand Tall and Be Heard!