Western Military Power Is a Necessary Force for Good

There is so much distressingly negative news around the world that two items that are more positive deserve attention today. ~~~~~ First, a top pro-Russia separatist leader on Saturday admitted that Ukrainian forces have surrounded Donetsk, the stronghold of Russian-backed rebels trying to break away from Ukraine and approach Russia. He called for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds : "We are ready for a ceasefire in order to avert the humanitarian catastrophe growing," Alexander Zakharchenko, prime minister of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, said in a statement posted on a rebel website, according to the Associated Press and AFP news agency. Igor Girkin, a senior commander of the pro-Russia militants, also acknowledged Saturday that Donetsk was surrounded and conceded that Ukrainian troops had gotten the upper hand in eastern Ukraine after four months of fighting. The appeal by Zakharchenko comes as Russia is urging that it be permitted to send a humanitarian convoy into Ukraine to parts of the besieged eastern regions, an offer that the Ukrainian government has labeled a ploy to cover a military invasion, while US Secretary of State John Kerry says that humanitarian efforts are being coordinated with Kiev. A Ukraine military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, told reporters Saturday that he could not confirm that a town near Donetsk is now in government hands, although the separatists say that Krasnyi Luch is under the control of Ukrainian forces. In Luhansk, which is in far eastern Ukraine about 20 miles from the Russian border, the city council said in a statement Saturday that its situation remains critical, with the city going without electricity, water, or most communications for a week. The report said only about 250,00 people remain in the city with a normal population of 425,000. With the Ukraine military consolidating its gains in eastern Ukraine, it appears that the separatists will be forced to sit down with the Ukraine government and work out a ceasefire and the terms of a permanent peace solution. ~~~~~ President Obama, who finally decided yesteday to help the beseiged Iraqi government, said today that the airstrikes he authorized in Iraq will continue for as long as necessary to protect both US personnel and religious minorities who are trapped on a mountain by ISIL militants in northern Iraq. Obama said : "I'm not going to give a particular timetable," for ending the airstrikes. He was standing on the White House lawn shortly before leaving for a summer vacation at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He added, "We are going to maintain vigilance." Obama again called on Iraq to form a unified government that is able to coordiinate the effort to save Iraq from an ISIL takeover. Administration officials believe the Iraqis are best-suited to deal with the threat of ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that is also called ISIS, over the long term. One Obama administration official told ABC News : "We're laying down a marker here that even though [ISIS] is not penetrating Erbil, just their presence on the periphery, and the potential threat they pose, could lead us to take action if the targets present themselves." US forces are conducting a difficult and dangerous humanitarian mission, with three US Air Force cargo jets escorted by two F-18 fighter jets dropping critical supplies to the Yazidi who are trapped in the Sinjar mountain area without food or water. The US is in a race to stop a catastrophe from befalling thousands of families who fled to the top of a mountain in Sinjar to avoid the ISIL threat to exterminate them unless they converted to the ISIL form of radical Islam. Senior administration officials said air drops and humanitarian aid will continue "as we see need," and the administration expects that need to continue. British airdrops are now also underway, being coordinated with the US. In addition, the Associated Press reported that US officials have confirmed that ISIL kidnapped and imprisoned several hundred Yazidi women so that they can be sold or married off to extremist fighters. The US military has also used airstrikes and drones to destroy armored artillery that ISIL had positioned to begin an assault on the Kurdish capital, Erdil, in northern Iraq. Some US military ammuniton and small arms and mortar already delivered to Baghdad have been diverted to the Kurdish Peshmerga army so that it can continue its battle against ISIL. More supplies are to follow. The Peshmerga took over the defense of northern Iraq after the collapse of the regular Iraqi army during the first days of the ISIL onslaught. ~~~~~ Dear readers, there is a lot to be said for strong Western military organizations. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, their extremely advanced technology makes them overpowering in a world that seems to prefer underdogs, no matter how vicious they are. Yes, they permit the West to maintain its control of the world in the face of complaints by those less democratic countries znd groups who would prefer to control the world themselves. But, when we consider the situation in Iraq, it is clear that US and NATO forces could defeat ISIL if they were allowed to do so. And if we consider Ukraine, we can see that even a modest but well-trained and equipped army with its role clearly defined can defeat separatists who would destroy the country, even when the separatists have help from Russia. And, beyond today's examples, we might add that the only well-trained and equipped professional army in the Middle East, the Israeli IDF, can defeat Hamas if world opinion would only permit it. So, the next time someone begins to complain about tbe costs of the US or any other Western military -- think Hamas, ISIL, al Qaida and pro-Russia Ukraine separatists -- and thank your lucky stars that these dedicated men and women are prepared to defend your God-given right to freedom and personal liberty.