Saturday, April 14, 2018

New Hampshire GOP congressional candidate Andy Martin backs President Trump on Syria strikes

New Hampshire First District congressional candidate Andy Martin explains why he supports President Trump’s decision to strike Syria in response to that nation’s use of chemical weapons. Andy places Trump’s actions in the context of a broader, long-term Middle East policy.

News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2018        
Republican candidate for Congress
New Hampshire-
First Congressional District
           

                    www.AndyMartin2018.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
Headquarters:
E-mail:AndyNewHampshire@aol.com
P.O. Box 742
Manchester, NH 03105-0742
Tel. (603) 518-7310
Cell (917) 664-9329
Fax (866) 214-3210
Blogs:
www.AndyMartinforCongress.blogspot.com
www.AndyMartinforCongress.wordpress.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin backs President Trump on Syria strikes


To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email

Please sign up for our Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

New Hampshire congressional candidate Andy Martin supports President Trump’s decision to attack Syria because of that nation’s use of poison gas

Andy says the use of chemical weapons cannot be “normalized”

Andy says his extensive Middle East experience will give New Hampshire citizens a strong voice in planning our military and diplomatic strategy in that region

(Manchester, NH) (April 14, 2018

April 14, 2018

Dear New Hampshire voter:

Many Americans are probably confused by our policy towards Syria and President Trump’s decision to authorize missile strikes against Syria because of Syria’s use of chemical weapons after saying he was withdrawing our forces. I strongly support President Trump’s decision to attack and would like to explain why I believe the president’s decision was the correct one.

My opponents in the Republican primary are decent and honorable people but none of them have my extensive Middle East and foreign policy experience. When American lives are at stake, and our national defense policy is being formulated, there is no substitute for experience.

Four (4) generations of my family have fought in the Middle East over the past 100 years. My mother and father served in the Middle East. My grandfather entered Damascus with liberating forces exactly 100 years ago. I first went to the Middle East forty-seven (47) years ago.

Over the past few days there have been heated confrontations on Fox News about “what are our interests in Syria?” Tucker Carlson has sought to raise questions about why we are there. Friday night there was a shouting match on the Laura Ingraham program. Surprisingly, the “liberal” cable channels have largely supported the Syrian intervention.

We have at least three overriding policy interests in Syria and the Middle East:

1. We must stop the spread of chemical weapons in the Middle East and elsewhere. Over the past decade Russia has repeatedly used chemical weapons to commit and attempt assassinations in the United Kingdom. The Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its population countless times. The poison gas attack in Damascus last week was only the latest example of chemical terrorism being unleashed on an unarmed civilian population. We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become “normalized.” The use of chemical weapons is banned under international law. In the wake of the horrible toll poison gas took on soldiers and civilians in World War I, chemical weapons were outlawed almost a century ago.

2. The Syrian civil war has created a refugee crisis in both Europe and the United States. Over five million Syrians have been displaced. It is easy to say “not our problem,” but the destabilization of Europe by millions of “immigrants” directly affects the United States. Efforts to flood the United States with Syrian refugees is an important Democratic Party policy. When millions of people become refugees, the impact is felt around the world. We cannot insulate ourselves from the refugee crisis. Chemical warfare exacerbates the refugee problem.

3. A few days ago, the dictators of Russia, Turkey and Iran met to carve up Syria. The only thing that stands in their way is the American zone east of the Euphrates River in Syria. There, a tiny force of special operations specialists with local support, has created a safe zone. Ironically, President Trump’s claim that he wanted to immediately end the U S presence may have encouraged the resumed use of chemical weapons by Syria/Russia.

I strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was a fool’s errand. But, going forward, a small U S presence in the Middle East is crucial to preserving the peace and allowing our friends in the region to develop stable institutions. If Syria is carved up, Jordan is next. If Jordan falls, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States will soon be gone. Iraq is already under malignant Iranian influence; I was in Iraq and I saw it developing. There will be Russian/Turkish/Iranian hegemony from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

So, yes, the United States has a vital interest in peace and stability in the region.

LET ME BE CLEAR: I am NOT for nation building. President George W. Bush blundered into Iraq and then tried nation building to correct the mess he created. Obama compounded Bush’s errors by withdrawing precipitously and giving rise to ISIS. If president Trump unilaterally withdraws our small force from Syria, we will inevitably be forced to return, just as President Obama’s blunders forced us to return to Iraq. We cannot just pretend there are no bad guys in the world and wall ourselves off from reality.

We can help to stabilize the region with small forces while avoiding both massive troop commitments and nation building.

Obama thought he could chicken out and avoid a Syrian commitment. Obama ended up dumping his mess on President Trump. Obama’s appeasement of Russia and Iran was also a failure. Remember Hillary Clinton’s “reset button” with Russia? Obama really believed that if he bribed the mullahs in Iran with tens of billions of dollars they would stop fomenting terrorism in the region. The Iranian regime has become even more dangerous and voracious for regional domination. Russia, Iran, and Turkey, are expansionist powers. They pose a threat to regional peace and, ultimately, to our own national security.

It is important to emphasize that the strike on Syria Friday night was an allied operation. France, our first ally over 200 years ago, and the United Kingdom, joined us in striking at the Syrian dictatorship. The Grand Alliance has been restored. President Trump did not act alone. That is an important consideration.

Finally, if Syria falls, ultimately Israel will also be endangered. Israel cannot be safe in a region where Iran and Russia have toppled all of the adjacent nations and created a hegemony of hate. Israel has a strong military, but that nation cannot survive if Russia and Iran control all of the Middle East. While it may be difficult to see the link between 2,000 brave Americans stationed in Syria today or missile strikes, and the long-term survival of Israel, the link is there. I am committed to the survival of Israel, which is why I support a limited but strong U S presence in the Middle East. If we abandon a stabilizing role in the region, ultimately Israel cannot survive. It is foolhardy to think otherwise.

President Trump lacks experience in foreign policy but, so far, he has not made any big mistakes (leaving Syria would be a massive mistake). Trump needs congressman who have the experience to help Congress adopt sound and sensible foreign policies. I will support Trump when he is right and oppose him when he is wrong.

Before Viet-Nam, it used to be said the “politics stopped at the water’s edge,” so that Democrats and Republicans adopted a unified national stance on foreign policy. While I am a Republican, I also want to stress that I will do my darnedest to resume the policy of our politics stopping at the water’s edge, and encourage my Democratic colleagues to join in supporting a sound Middle East approach.

I ask for your support in the Republican primary. I am the only Republican who has the actual experience to make a difference in Washington.

Sincerely,

Andy Martin

AM:sp

-----

Background information:

[How Andy Martin became a terrorism and counterterrorism expert:


Andy has over fifty years of experience in Asia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East; he is regarded overseas as one of America’s most respected independent foreign policy, military and intelligence analysts. He is known as an “over-the-horizon” expert who synthesizes conditions to prepare predictive opinions.

Andy’s experience fighting terrorism began during the Cold War in 1965 when he became an acolyte of Professor Bernard Fall. After Professor Fall was blown up, Andy persevered in studying counterinsurgency (COIN) in Viet-Nam and around the world. Andy founded the Revolutionary War Research Center and in 1974 he began to offer counterterrorism consulting at the World Trade Center in New York, becoming one of the nation’s first counterterror specialists. Andy was in New York on September 11, 2001 and rendered assistance.

Andy first went to the Arab world in 1971 and has traveled to every country in that region. Andy was in Iran and Afghanistan during the hostage crisis in 1979-80.

He lived in Iraq in 2003.

His analysis of the terrorist threat in Iran during 1979-80, and again in Iraq in 2003, were leading-edge predictions of what Americans faced in the future. Andy has lived in or been in Israel, Jordan, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Viet-Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.]

-----

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):


New citations after emailing:

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With fifty years of background in radio and television and with five decades of intelligence, investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, military and intelligence matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire over 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s opinion columns are posted at ContrarianCommentary.com, ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com and ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs and don’t hesitate to let us know if you find an error.]

----------

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2018 – All Rights Reserved

No comments:

Post a Comment