America's dilemma. By Eric Smith

For those now fretting over the apparent weakness of President Obama in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine ask yourself this question. Is this particular conflict worth the very real risk of seeing a mushroom cloud rise over New York City for make no mistake any armed conflict with Russia (or China for that matter) will eventually lead to a nuclear exchange. That's just how it is and we need to keep this in mind; especially now.

Now there's a another thing we need to keep in mind here. Ukraine is on the Russian border whereas Iraq is nowhere near ours. Our moral standing in calling for nations to respect the sovereignty of other nations and refrain from unilateral military aggression ended permanently when President George W. Bush went against over two hundred years of American precedent and not only invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq but did so under false pretenses.

As horrible as the Russian military aggression is Ukraine is, it doesn't come close to rising to the level in terms of being a violation of international law that was America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Russians can make, however dubious, a claim that instability in Ukraine poses a clear and present danger to the security of Russia itself. Never in a million years could America make such a claim against Iraq.

Before invading that country America could at least take the moral high ground and claim that such acts of unilateral aggression against a sovereign nation was morally wrong and a blatant violation of international law. President Bush forever destroyed this country's moral standing to make such a claim in 2003 and in so doing forever handicapped & compromised future presidents ability to properly address the very kind of aggressive conduct now being practiced by Russia's President Putin without being willing to go to general war and wiping out the whole world in a nuclear Armageddon.

That is precisely where this country is now because of the jingoistic policies of the Bush Administration a decade ago. As is the case with individuals so too is it with nations; if one wants to be taken seriously then one must practice what they preach and not preach what they don't practice. For over two hundred years America refrained from the practice of unilaterally invading a sovereign nation. It was part of our national DNA not to partake in preemptive war and as such we were on firm moral footing to call out the very kind of aggressive conduct the Russians are engaging in Ukraine.

We do not have that footing, that moral standing, now and we do not have it because an American president by the name of George W. Bush launched a preemptive war against a sovereign nation not to protect American lives and interests but solely to satisfy a personal vendetta. So if you want to blame anyone for this current state of affairs blame Bush because it was his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 without cause or justification that forever ruined America's moral standing to call out other nations for unprovoked aggression that put President Obama and American prestige in the untenable position it is today.