They come as Humanitarians. They are trained to fight our countries battles. They are now stripped of the tools of their real profession. And told to go forth and help these victims. A noble gesture of the highest order. Or a Fool's Folly, which may explode in the face of the policy makers.
Beirut comes to mind. Marines in a hotel as a sitting target in a volatile combat zone. They died without being allowed to protect themselves they way they were trained. Instead they were put into a building that allowed all of them to be in one centralized area and exposed. The fanatical terrorist of the Middle East exploited that weakness. And the Marines have never forgotten that lesson.
Now, once again the policy makers have asked the Marines to do what they consider to be the better good. To once again walk into a potential death trap and go completely unarmed and unprotected.
Is it understandable that the world wants to help these victims of a disaster of huge magnitude? Yes, I think there is a sincere effort to help those people. But they are asking the United States to send in the Marines to help. But tying their hands behind their backs in the process.
Indonesia is 88% Muslim, and contains terrorist networks within that country:
Ethnic groups:
Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%
Religions:
Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998)
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...k/geos/id.html
Into this potential hotbed of this Muslim country go forth the Marines to help those people.
I certainly hope that there is a contingency plan in which those Marines can be rearmed if attacked. And I would like to think, that part of that agreement reached was that there could be a response if fired upon.