'..to double and triple down on losing strategies dishonors our fallen and our country .. Leave today or in 18 years, the end result is the same. We can only choose how much we are going to lose in precious American blood and treasure..''The argument that the US should be "staying to course" or some other meaningless emotional slogan implies that we have been on a winning trajectory in the Middle East and the larger global war on terror, there is no data to support that. Our last 18 years of war have not accomplished anything for America; competitors, Russia and China have returned while we bled for our ideological experiments.
..
My wife gave her life for this fight and I spent my adult life in this fight. It is incredibly painful to admit that we have not been successful with so much lost, but to double and triple down on losing strategies dishonors our fallen and our country.
Leave today or in 18 years, the end result is the same. We can only choose how much we are going to lose in precious American blood and treasure and how long our enemies fight each other until they attack us. Or we buy time and prepare for the real threat to our country and the American experiment of freedom: Russia and China.'
- Joe Kent (CNN,
Source, October 25, 2019)
Context'America must lead, but mainly by example .. Most importantly, invest the savings to build a secure, dynamic, and prosperous America that others want to emulate.'