We are indeed.
And the disturbing events that we saw in the 1990s — constant appeasement of Middle East terrorists and their national sponsors, the emergence of a nuclear Pakistan and North Korea, sudden withdrawal from messy places like Mogadishu, a jetting special envoy Jimmy Carter — will return, though made worse through the prism of the present fury over Iraq.
If it were not so tragic it would be ironic to see what the present prescient critics are going to say — much less do — when they confront the hideous reality that Iran and perhaps Syria will have acquired nuclear weapons and with them the ability, without a neighboring nuclear India staring them down, to blackmail most of the Middle East and the oil-hungry world at large.
We will soon learn what Middle Eastern nuclear honor, atomic loss of face, or radioactive jihad really means. Most who now damn unilateralism and preemption won't find their beloved but shaken U.N., EU, or NATO at their side. More likely there will come a day when in exasperation they will call up someone like Don Rumsfeld for advice — albeit in silence and off the record.
You know, this little passage brings to mind a certain gentleman's apocalyptic predictions in the late 70's , as Jimmie Carter's national experiment in a presidency of the incompetent was winding to a close -- remember how he advised us to have a ' back door ' exit plan, if the stuff ever hit the fan ?
Its apparent that if we live long enough, we're going to see another Democrat in tha office, and if present conditions prevail, and the country is at war, we are going to see another disaster.
Perhaps I am pessimistic, and some new paradigm will emerge ( ie. another political party ) , that will spare us the experience of the appeasement crowd being in power once again....