Dear Editor,

There is a belief in American politics that Republicans are stronger on defense.  But are they?

In 2001 after the World Trade Center bombing, the US and allies invaded Afghanistan to challenge the Taliban who were harboring Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The Taliban were essentially defeated by the end of 2001, yet 20 years later we were still there trying to prop up a friendly government while taking thousands of casualties from IED’s (improvised explosive devices).

Our purpose was righteous but lacked an exit strategy, partially because just two years later, George W Bush and Dick Cheney changed their focus to Iraq on flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, intending to control the vast oil reserves there.

For the first time in our history the US attacked a country which had not attacked us. Bush and Cheney believed that the Iraqi people would look on us as liberators. Instead, after the initial “shock and awe” bombing, they flubbed the “day after,” took their eyes off Afghanistan, fired the whole national army, and created the rise of ISIS which turned on the US and caused enormous casualties. It is considered today to be the biggest foreign policy disaster in US history…until today’s war with Iran.  

In 2026, Netanyahu persuaded Trump to join him in attacking Iran, a cause he had pitched to several US presidents before, with no success. Trump, fresh off his successful snatching of Maduro in Venezuela, and having assassinated the Iranian terrorist leader, Qasim Suleimani with little consequence, agreed based on his instincts, not intelligence. He thought this would be an equally easy victory. Netanyahu claimed Iran was vulnerable, that they could topple the ruling elite, spur a national revolution, and create a state less bent on the destruction of Israel.  

One of many justifications for this invasion was that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon. Ironically, it was Netanyahu in Trump’s first term who persuaded Trump that the JCPOA, (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) was flawed. This “plan” had been negotiated by Obama after 22 months, with the support of China, Russia, Germany, France, and the U.K.  Imagine getting that kind of support today with “American first.” Netanyahu insisted that the JCPOA was weak and would allow Iran to enrich uranium after 10 years, allowing them to eventually become a nuclear armed country. 

The irony is that the JCPOA required Iran to export 98% of their enriched uranium, allowed ongoing inspection of their nuclear facilities, and the Strait of Hormuz was open. Iran complied until 2018 when Trump cancelled it, then began enriching in retaliation.   

It is unlikely that Trump will ever achieve as good an agreement as the JCPOA.  Since the Feb assault on Iran the US is in a quagmire with the initial leaders killed, but a hardened cadre of militants in charge, the Strait of Hormuz blocked, and many US bases in the area bombed, especially the logistics hub in Bahrain.

Losing Bahrain requires 2,000-miles of travel to re-supply the 50,000 American sailors and marines stationed there. According to the Inspector General for the Defense Dept, Iranian counterattacks damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Additionally, dozens of U.S. military aircraft have been damaged or destroyed, including 30 Reaper drones, 12 KC-135 aerial refueling planes, four F-15 fighters and an A-10 attack jet.  This was underreported until US service people published pictures of much of this devastation.

In destroying Iranian missile defenses, air force and navy, the US depleted many of its expensive missile batteries, requiring us to shift armaments from different arenas including Asia near Taiwan. China is watching, calculating how to re-take Taiwan, while the US reverts to tit for tat bombing in the Strait which is still partially blocked…Iran is able to pressure shipping in the Strait with less expensive drones and mines, awaiting the outcome of our midterm elections.

Meanwhile the nearly 1 trillion-dollar defense budget isn’t enough. Trump and Hegseth are asking for 1.5 trillion next year and have secretly diverted billions in funds passed by Congress for other programs.   

Republicans are good at starting wars, mostly over oil…but not good at ending them. We have now insulted our allies in NATO who helped us in Afghanistan and Iraq and ignored Ukraine in favor of Russia.

We’re going the wrong way again. We could be rebuilding our own country with the billions being spent on wasteful wars.

Bill Thibedeau

Gilpin County