Finally, in what I see as the errors of the Iraq campaign, I recognize the worst aspects of arrogant left-wing utopianism: the idea that you can remake a whole society and region through sheer force of will. I think Iraq is a tragic disaster
???? Excuse me, but what how are we forcing our will on Iraq. We liberated them from a brutal dictator who was using force for his personal gain and power. The left somehow mistakes Saddam's Iraq with a free sovereign nation.
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I have to ask people to read more carefully. I didn't say we forced our will on Iraq, I said that the architects of the Iraq war, in defiance of good conservative principles, believe they "can remake a whole society and region through sheer force of will."
Why's FR so slow on this, my big debate day, by the way?
Major and minor upgrades to the site/system this week.
Get a cable modem ~ it's fast, fast, fast. :)
"We're tweaking the system. You might find response time abysmal in the meantime."
You're imposing your liberal philosophy on others. Liberals believe that the great unwashed must be guided by the enlightened wisdom of the elites. Conservatives believe that if you create the right environment, you can let the force of will of the Iraqi people take over. And so far it's working - the insurrection is mostly from the deposed Baathists, parasites who have lost their status as oppressors and want it back. The average Iraqi just wants a better life and a new car and a bigger house - the old market forces at work.
Yeah, the Greeks never did that to The Middle East through Afghanistan under Alexander.
The Romans couldn't change all of Europe through force of will.
The Muslims didn't change the whole ME region and society throught force of will.
The Europeans didn't remake the American continent through Force of Will
I believe it is a Conservative truism that regions and societies are only remade through the force of will of an opposing party.
Or do you just believe in 'Good Vibes'?
You established a strawman. Who the heck are these architects ? congress who voted for the war ? Where are the blueprints ? Why aren't they being followed ? Typical lefty can only beat strawmen in order to debate.
You could read more carefully too....we are liberating them. Like we did France, Germany, Japan, and every other nation we have 'conquered'. We do not remake a whole society, we give them an opportunity to become free and prosperous. We handed control of the country to them and are merely helping them police it to maintain stability while they establish themselves.
No vast right-wing conspiracy. Upgrades have gone on overnight for the past few nights and JohnRobinson warned us that he's tweaking the system today and our response times might be, in his words, abysmal.
It's not slow at all. I think you should see the error of your ways and vote for W and all Republicans. Then you can use the tax rebate to upgrade your computer and get a cable connection from your ISP.