No, no, no, no, no.

Please don’t do this.

It’s not going to affect me – not much.

My nephew is in the Coast Guard, but I have never understood that CGers are poised to go to the Middle East.

But what is about to happen would be the second time our nation has made this decision to send human beings to Iraq – and the first time didn’t go all that well, did it? Am I making this up?

President Obama has announced he is sending 300 “military advisers” into Iraq to help advise the ruling power structure there about how to operate their country, give them suggestions on how to defend themselves militarily against a powerful insurgent force sweeping Iraq, picking off towns day by day.

Some of us have been through this before, either as participants or observers of the early days of the Vietnam war, or as students of history.

My late mother used to say, “We are all entitled to one IQ point for each gray hair.” That makes me an Einstein-level genius.

There are two awful things about the U.S. seeing the current troubles in Iraq and concluding that, gee, we need to go back over there and dive back in again.

One is that, however altruistic it sounds to say (Miss Universe-like) we want to “help bring about world peace,” it is not always possible to barge into the home of feuding neighbors, frying pans and profanity flying, and “intercede,” especially if they both happen to dislike you a whole lot. World War II taught us, I think, that it’s easier to save the day for a country that perhaps loves you and is getting firebombed by a third country which you all detest.

The second problem is that we assumedly are ready to take the same approach to this Gulf War that (my prediction) we took last time around, 10 years ago: It will be fought, more than 50 percent, by inner-city poor kids with few other options; and rural poor kids who are eager to buy the delusional sales pitch that this war is “patriotic duty for U.S. interests.” (Your suburban yuppie neighbors won’t be going).

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

The guys at Libby-Mitchell Post in Scarborough were big in World War II. Several also served their country in later conflicts: Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf. But the World War II guys interest me the most because they appear to have understood that war, most effectively waged, is not just tanks and guns. It is persuading people around you of your mission – and getting them to join you.

As this Iraq debacle proceeds, travel around 04074 Land or your town. Hardware store. Post Office. Drug store. School athletic fields. Ask everyone you talk with at length hey, how about this kerfuffle in Iraq? Know any kids going over? Their answers, I think I can promise you 99.99999 percent: Nope.

I always think that is a bad sign.

Dan Warren is a lawyer in Scarborough. He can be reached by private Facebook message at Jones & Warren Attorneys at Law, or by email at jonesandwarren@gmail.com.