JANUARY 17, 2014

    Iraq--you remember them, we invaded a few years ago but they seem to have recovered—now Iraq is asking the U.S. for more weapons in order to fight al-Qaeda linked militants.  Our government, in its expertise, will decide what to do.  The rest of us should probably think about it some too.

     Sometimes we know our friends and enemies.  Hitler was a bad guy.  But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki?  Who knows?  And the problem isn't just weapons--that's easy, might even help business, create jobs.  The problem is that the weapons will almost certainly be accompanied sooner or later by a request for American troops to train the iraqis.  Some of those troops, if sent, will almost certainly be killed.

   We should risk their lives, I think most of us agree, only when the U.S. itself is at risk, which is certainly not the case here.

     It would be useful if the president would explain to us why these ventures are wise, or necessary, if he in fact thinks they are.  This president could do that--he can't run for reelection anyway.  I wonder if he will.