Why?

Why are we "exploring all options" when it comes to sending troops to Liberia? What is our real interest over there?

I am a big believer in using military force to impose solutions, in most cases. But before we can do that, we have to have a clear understanding of the problem and a clear solution to it. So what is our problem in Liberia? What is our great national interest in putting our military in harm's way again?

Howard Dean tries to argue that it's humanitarian. But I'm not buying that. Especially not from him (who thinks that the Iraq war was not humanitarian despite the discovery of mass graves and executions in the days right before US forces entered Baghdad).

Iraq had a humanitarian crisis that could be solved by military force. A small group of men was brutally murdering thousands upon thousands of defenseless citizens. Some were being killed through government-induced famine. Some were dying because of a lack of adequate medical care. Many were flat out executed, often times in unspeakably horrible ways.

Liberia is not Iraq. Liberia is in a civil war. Armed combatants for both sides are killing civilians and each other. Removing Saddam virtually ended the insanity in Iraq; removing Charles Taylor will not achieve the same in Liberia. Liberia is not about Charles Taylor; it's about tribalistic slaughter.

You cannot impose a solution to a civil war with a mere 5000 peacekeepers. That's too much to ask, even of our soldiers. If you want to end the civil war, you need to send in a large number of troops or you end up like the French in the Ivory Coast - protecting a few special people while watching the slaughter continue around you.

But that still leaves the question of why go in the first place?

Dean argues that al-Qaeda is trading "conflict diamonds." OK, I'll accept that. But how do we know that it involves Liberia in anyway? How does taking over Liberia put a crimp in their operation? Give me some names, some cities in Liberia, some idea of how the system is working and why Liberia is so important to its success. Show me why we can't pressure the buyers of these illegal diamonds. I don't want a divulgence of sensitive information or means of collection - we should never jeopardize our safety like that - but I do want something more than a claim of a "credible report." Or is there something that makes Dean's "credible reports" more credible than Bush's?

Sending our men and women into conflict is never a decision that should be taken lightly. In the run up to Afghanistan and Iraq both there was a significant national debate about sending them. With Liberia, that's not true yet.

We still need to know what they will be fighting for. What is it that is worth our soldiers' lives?

That question needs to be better answered before we commit the first soldier.