Posted on 10/28/2005 4:00:56 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
Edited on 10/28/2005 4:29:53 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
GHW Bush should SMACK Scowl-croft!! What a disloyal creep!
Actualy Brent is a Morman and a retired air force general. But he has always seen himself as an elitist in the Henry Kissenger mold.
He like many elitists see the world as so complex that the best course of action is to always roll with the flow. Like many elitists he thinks that if he doesnt understand the situation no one understands the situation.
Brent is one of the idiots that argued there was no need to take down Saddam in 1991.. Saddam, according to Bren,t would be overthown by his own people in short order after the loss of Gulf War I. Brent did not have a clue about the real world in Iraq.Brent in my view is not very bright and thinks he is briliant.
Some people on this site don't understand how the world works. They think because Condi Rice worked with Brent that she was under his spell. Condi is the kind of person who will do your will when she works for you.. But she does not agree with Scowcroft and nither does Bush.
In the real world getting to be Secretary of state means you have to follow the direction of those higher on the ladder than you are. Once at the top of the ladder one can do his own thing as long as the President agrees.
Doing what you want on the way up the ladder just gets you kicked off the ladder by those above you. Doing what you want when you are at the top of the ladder in opposition of the President also gets you kicked off the ladder.
When I managed other peoples radio stations people thought I was in total agreement with the owners. Some of those people expressed surprise when I handled my own stations quite differently. They confused following the bosses orders with doing your own thing.
All three of those countries were viable nations long before the U.S. got involved with "building" them. Iraq is not a "nation" in any sense of the word. It is nothing more than a dysfunctional remnant of the colonial era in that region, and does not have a common culture, language, or religious/ethnic makeup. Iraq is no more a nation than Yugoslavia was, and it is absolutely naive to think anyone can cobble something together in the Middle East and call it "Iraq" without using a repressive, totalitarian government to oversee it.
Disagree with what -- the facts that I presented?
I read past posts by you, and came to the conclusion that your political views would not be changed by any discussion with me. I just wanted to let you know that I see things in a different light... that is all.
LLS
Scowcroft exemplifies the classic "White Man's Burden" school of geopolitical theory.
I agree. I just couldn't express it a well as you just did.
I noticed from your comments that your broadcast career was in management and ownership. Mine was in sales. We sales-weasels tend to be a bit glib (a trait which frequently caused many headaches for folks like you)! /grin
I remember what my mentor told me about manageing sales people. He asked me what a manager should do to keep good sales people happy. The right answer was "What ever it takes!!"
What you say makes a great deal of sense. I don't have any specific knowledge of Scowcroft's detailed views, but in addition to his comfortable elitism, I do have the impression he is rather strongly aligned with the 'Arabist' tradition in the US Dept. of State which cozies up to all the Arab dictators thinking that we must try to make them like us because we need oil and stability in international financial markets. However, people like GW and Condi understand, especially after 9/11, that the status quo could no longer be accepted. I would like to see more government dominoes falling in the Arab world (not to mention Persian Iran!!), but we also need to take things in reasonable steps. Scowcroft would have left Saddam and his psychotic sons in power forever, but getting rid of them was a good first step toward trying to improve that region.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.