Don’t turn Syria’s allies into enemies

In light of the refugee crisis engulfing Europe, I can but only wonder if Charlie Wilson’s famous words regarding our war with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan (“we went in with the best of intentions, but [screwed] up the end game”) will ring true again concerning our current wars in the Middle East. We beat the Soviets, then left the Afghanis to rebuild a country we helped to demolish. We turned allies into enemies, and who can blame them?

If we do this again in Syria and, more specifically, to the innocents fleeing the carnage wrought by our bombs and the terror of ISIS, then we have learned nothing. Again.

We helped to create al Qaeda and ISIS through our indifference once the fighting was done with the Soviets. What will we create this time if we don’t stick around to finish the job of making real friends?

George W. Bush wasn’t wrong when he said war is easy, peace is hard. He just didn’t understand, like so many other politicians before him, that it’s necessary.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Don’t turn Syria’s allies into enemies."