Posted on 02/06/2005 11:44:43 AM PST by worldclass
And it is up to Washington to end the pretense of US-Saudi harmony. President Bush last week referred to Saudi Arabia as one of ''our friends" in the Middle East. But friends don't flood friends' houses of worship with hateful religious propaganda. We are in a war against radical Islamist terrorism, and Saudi Arabia supplies the ideology on which the terrorists feed. Until that incitement is stifled, the Saudis are no friends of ours.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
For starters, let kick them out of this country.
"..Trying to convert Iraq and to others democracy is the wrong approach... "
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This is precisely the approach, and it is working.
"For starters, let kick them out of this country."
For starters, let's stop letting them in!
As long as we keep several hundred thousand troops in there, it is working. But it won't work for long...as much as I might wish otherwise.
What is working is not just the current turning point in Iraq, where Iraqis begin to really fight the "insurgents" head-on. That could still go sour on us without our losing the overall war. What is working, just beginning to work is the transformation that self-rule will bring to Islam and the Middle East. But we have to still be ready for setbacks! Please, no more clamor for instant gratification. That "remedy" you advocate, such as it is, ultimately won't reduce our costs.
We need to work that transformation without large occupation forces or guerilla warfare. But we will still need to spend military capital to win it.
If you believe democracy will come to the Middle East, then here is another headline for you:
DEMOCRATIC PARTY SAYS ROE V. WADE A MISTAKE; PROMISES TO STOP ABORTION.
I am not looking for quick fixes. But I am being realistic. With Iraq surrounded by Syria, SA, and Iran, not to mention Turkey, their chance of survival as a democracy without us is nil. Already the pro-Iranian party is positioned well for the new government. And Iran can outwait us.
Furthermore, I was glad we took out Saddam due to WMD concerns. As for nation-building, whether Clinton or Bush, I am against it.
Taking the oil fields is not a quick fix. But it would give us a chance at 50 years of peace, something democracy in Iraq won't.
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