Andrew Napolitano on Resisting the Temptation to Slay the World's Monsters
The political and military force that is aiming at Iraq's capital calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Its fighting force consists of about 8,000 men, yet it has marched through Iraq quickly. Last week, as ISIS forces approached the capital, a half-million Iraqi civilians got out of their way and tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces dropped their American military gear and fled. The Iraqi army—which the U.S. decimated 10 years ago—cannot defend the current Iraqi government, which is as corrupt, authoritarian, anti-democratic, and untrustworthy as Saddam's was, yet far less competent.
But as we watch all of this unfold, we must, in John Adams' words, resist the temptation to slay the world's monsters, argues Andrew Napolitano. We should gather all Americans in Iraq, take what moveable wealth is ours, and come home. Searching the world for monsters to destroy will only end up destroying us.