[MindFire]

You asked: "How could it have been so apparently unprepared for the chaos that followed Saddam*s defeat?"

They weren*t *naively unprepared* for the chaos. the chaos is an orchestrated necessary part of the plan, which naturally precedes and necessitates the need for "order". Google the term "order out of Chaos".

Transcript: "There are difficult days ahead, and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic.

And here is another quote that Bush said previously, in April 2003. you can google it, too: "you*re free. and freedom is beautiful. And it*ll take time to restore chaos... and order.. order out of chaos. but we will."

"Ordo Ab Chao" = Order Out of Chaos

[Billthedrill]

Very impressive article. I think her view of why American society is - or seems - so violent in comparison to its European counterparts is very perceptive.

Nevertheless, and it may be naive, or it may be that it really is a simple truth that will stand long after the cynical and the "sophisticated" have faded into impotent irrelevancy, I state without qualification that freedom is, in fact, the natural condition of man and woman, and that given a taste of it and an understanding of how precious it is, these will die for it as we are willing to die for in on others' behalf. I shall go further and suggest that anyone who cannot appreciate this is less than alive. For them I feel sorry, but it does not excuse their refusal to allow that chance to others simply because they consider themselves too sophisticated to fall for such a simple, naive idea.

[keepitsimplestupid]

The author says that we want nothing to do with the rest of the world. That may be true for ignorant Americans, but any American who pays attention to his own livelihood knows that his welfare is intimately tied to the rest of the world.

Right now, our livelihood depends on the ability to trade with the rest of the world. If we are cut off from the produce of the rest of the world, our standard of living will drop a lot. If China and Mexico stop selling us simple industrial products, we will have to restart our own factories, with all the pollution they bring. If OPEC stops selling us oil, we will have to abandon our suburban homes and move back into dirty, crowded, and decaying cities.

We don't have to conquer anyone, because we have the best things to trade to them. But we can't let anyone interfere with that trade, so we do need to keep our soldiers everywhere, and we will occasionally need to invade someone.

[Cicero]

Good article, but it was a SERIOUS MISTAKE to begin it that way. Many newspaper readers just read the headline and the first few sentences. If they do that in this case, they will conclude that the article is about America's failure in Iraq.

Yes, I know, she is attacking the defeatists who says these things. But it's not a good way to write a newspaper article.

[CWOJackson]

"Most Americans now have very little comprehension of how unlike the rest of the world they are."

Not really, the rest of the world reminds us every day.

[familyop]

Thanks to Janet, and many thanks to Conrad from this Yank.

[McGavin999]

The one thing that people fail to understand is that we've discovered that along with freedom comes a voluntary social contract to obey certain rules. Any violence that comes about is as a result of someone who breaks that social contract. We don't like that because we all know that the social contract is what allows us to remain completely free. Hard to explain, don't think I did it very well, but we obey laws and rules because we are totally free to do so.

[lainde]

bttt