But we have got to try... And Iraq is the best place to do it for a variety of reasons.
If democracy will take hold, it will take hold here.
It's a grand experiment. There is much riding on whether Iraq will accept the freedom given them or trade it in for a Shia dominated theocracy.
Everything hangs in the balance.
That's why the President went on Arab TV... to undo the harm (and there was great harm done) that those soldiers did.
Iraq is babylon. It is one of the last places on earth that democracy would ever really work. We'll set up some puppet government that will eventually fall.... can we say "shaw of iran". That's the bottom line.
I have to take a minor exception to this statement. I am NOT certain that there WAS GREAT HARM done here.
Potentially, if the president, and the military, are able to take this and show the world just how we differ in the way we handle such abuses by our citizens, this could even turn into a public relations coup. Very, very tough, but I am not despairing that this can not be accomplished.
As a former officer, and squadron exec, I witnessed military crimes and trials. We are pretty efficient and just when we encounter any abusive behavior by our military personnel, in my experience. This prison abuse is clearly counter to behavior we expect from prison personnel, and it will be punished - I suspect that punishment will be a tad more harsh than would otherwise be the case due to the publicity - but I don't think that is unwarranted.
There is nothing written in stone yet here. We may really be in a Romans 8:28 situation if America handles this the right way. And, by the way, I think the outrage from all American quarters is an appropriate step for the best result to come to fruition.