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
First Congressional District
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
Headquarters:
E-mail:AndyNewHampshire@aol.com
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
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Andy
says the use of chemical weapons cannot be “normalized”
Andy
says his extensive Middle East experience will give New Hampshire
(Manchester , NH 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 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 World Trade Center 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 .]
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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 USA
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 Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where
he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire
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.]
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Andy Martin 2018 – All Rights Reserved
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