Oh to be young, Hayat Alvi is shocked we are losing gazillions in equipment

In a Reuters' article, Hayat Alvi, Ph.D. noticed,

The reportedly hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. weapons, equipment and supplies falling into enemy hands in Iraq, Syria and now in Yemen are more than just signs of strategic failure. Rather, they’re part of a long list of recent embarrassments, including the poor performance of U.S.-trained Iraqi military personnel when Islamic State invaded Mosul last summer, and the Islamic militant army’s confiscation of U.S. military weapons and supplies in the Iraqi territories it has occupied.

The lady is an Associate Professor at the U.S. Naval War College. She specializes in the Middle East, South Asia and Islamic Studies.   There is a picture up of her and though it is fetching, one notices the youthfulness of mien.

Those of us full of years remember the fall Vietnam.  The Vietnamese commies came out of that with a huge tank army courtesy of Uncle Sam.

One good outcome was that, yeah the taxpayer paid for that loss, but after that, we got to forget about the place.  We were done with them and left no forwarding address.

Hayat is too young to get that.  If we left MENA, they ain't coming in a carrier fleet to invade Long Island.

Ms. Alvi makes the case for neutralism,

The United States has unmatched military prowess for invasions and interventions, but fails miserably in post-campaign policies and strategies. It continues to have faith in supposed “allies” in the region, who usually end up undermining the very national interests that the United States is pursuing. This is because the United States fails to take into account that each state and non-state actor in the region — from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to Iran and even Shi’ite militias operating in Iraq — has its own interests and agendas that frequently do not align with the United States. Western powers cannot keep up with these growing complexities, especially in Yemen.

If we can't keep up with the complexities, it is time to say au revoir. 


Hat tip to Parapundit.