No war for old men.

(There is a debate raging within my family and friends about where the United States should be placing emphasis abroad.  My son and I are leaning toward Uganda and the capture of Joesph Kony. Others want us to attack Syria and their crazy dictator. A few are ready to bomb the hell out of Iran in preparing an all-out invasion of that oil-rich country. (Hummm?) Still others want no action at all. Actually this last group may win out when you read my arguments below. The truth of the matter is the U.S. doesn’t get involved militarily unless there is national interests or money to be made…or if natural resources can be had. Sounds bad, sounds selfish, but that is our foreign policy.Got a human rights issue? Better have oil or uranium or rare Earth.  Something to make it worth our while.)

Santorum called for war.  Newt asserted that Obama was weak on protecting Israel and that we should be ready to wage war with Iran. Mitt even beat around the bush to suggest that war might be a solution to solve the Iranian problem.

The President told them unconditionally to cool it.  War talk is not needed right now by you numskulls.

But in case the GOP candidates keep at it, I have a few questions for them.  How are you going pay for this war?  Are you going to do like the W and cut taxes and fees and reduce income then go to war?  That really worked now didn’t it.

Come on smart guys…how you going to pay for another war?

I was watching Fox News the other day and they are beating the war drums.  Okay Fox, how are you going to pay for the war? You stir ‘em up out in the dusty back roads, now ask them for money to pay for the war and see how long your ratings last.

I want some answers from all you hawks out there.  Let me know. Say, Senator McCain, who wants us to start by bombing Syria, how are we going to pay for that?  You are trying to cut spending and balance the budget and buy down the deficit, so how can we afford another war? 

No one can tell me.

Hell, even the Pentagon released a statement saying we were not ready for another war now.  Not physically, not spiritually and not economically. And they are the guys you are going to send over there to fight….at what cost?

So here’s an idea.  Shut up about war for ten years. Not one word of it. Anywhere at anytime. Let Israel take care of Israel. Let Europe take care of Europe. Let (you name a country goes here) take care of (that same name goes here).  Ten years.  One decade.  Cut the foreign policy down to three words. Good Luck, Y’all.

No more wars until you figure out how to pay for them.  And don’t ask for my help. I want my tax dollars going to help my fellow Americans find jobs, get health insurance and fix our infrastructure here at home.  Things we all can use.

You want a war, go raise an army and fund it and have at it.  Don’t ask me to help you.  Not for ten years.  I want to see if America can stay at peace for ten years.  Can we stop being the world’s cop for a decade?

Let’s try.  Ten years.  No money for wars anywhere at anytime. (Assuming they are not attacking us on our soil and that’s self defense.  But no more of this Bush era preemptive strike.  Oh yeah, and cut the taxes, too.)

So GOP let’s get in a big huddle and figure this one out. No war.  Lower taxes and still help deliver quality of life services to all of our citizens.  Come on, you’re big boys.  You can do it.  And you don’t even need guns to figure it out. 

Just brains.

Here’s an idea.  Pass the hat.  That’s what a group of energetic young people are doing around the world in a cause to find and arrest the Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony. They have raised millions.  They want the man accused of massive human rights atrocities captured by the end of 2012. They’ve put a bounty on his head. It is Foreign Policy from the grass roots level and it has the professionals scared to death.

They are saying it will change the world. I don’t know about that, but it will certainly change the way we might pay for invasions. 

Toll wars. Pay as you fight.

Me?  I say no war until you can find a way to pay for it. Pass the hat or pass the plate or... just pass this time. See you next time around, when we’ve got some spare change.