Posted on 12/12/2006 9:32:13 AM PST by LAMBERT LATHAM
The Dems don't even know who the enemy is.
Fixed it.
What went wrong?
We conquered a hostile country of 32 million people and held it for the past four years.....with fewer casualties in all that time than we have sustained in single battles in most other wars.
The media has proclaimed it a stunning defeat.
Iraq is not conquered and we don't hold it.
Conquered means American servicemen can walk unarmed and unaccompanied anywhere, and the locals avert their gaze lest they give offense.
Held means control of lethal force and arrest and punishment for violators.
Both of these conditions are light-years away from Iraq.
While Bush’s effort to combat terrorism by planting democracy in the Islamic world was a noble strategy, and probably worth a go, the real problem with the policy is the now-evident fact that democracy and Islam are about as compatible as oil and water. History has recorded that democracy took root in the west because democracy, freedom, a recognition and respect for the basic rights of man, flourished in the Judeo-Christian ethos of the west. Democracy grew because it was planted in good soil. In Iraq, democracy, freedom, respect for life, respect for the rights of the individual, respect for women, freedom of thought, freedom of association, may ultimately be choked-out because the soil is bad. Such things as freedom, respect for life, respect for the individual, freedom of expression, self-determination, and so forth, are anathema to Islam. Islam is a false religion. Their god is Satan. They worship oppression and glory in death. How could democracy take root in such an environment? Sharansky and Bush may be right to a point – that in the heart of every human beats a desire for freedom and dignity. But the prerequisite here is that it must beat in a human heart, and what Islam breeds is inhumanity.
I don’t fault Bush for his optimism. The leftist naysayers will now gloat that they were right all along, but they were never right. Their strategy for confronting Islamic terror was to roll up into a fetal position and question why they hate us. Regardless of Bush's good intentions, it becomes clearer with each passing day that optimism is a western virtue, something completely lacking in the soul of the Muslim world. How does one “reform” a cancer? It appears we need a new strategy for combating Islamic terror. But I’m not sure we have it in us to do what probably needs to be done.
I honestly believe that the President didn't plan on insurgents coming in from Syria and Iran. They should have shut down the borders and all arms coming into Iraq. Be that as it may, they need to hit these people hard or get out.
What went wrong? The Left Vietnamized it.......
And most American cities.
If we had been taking battle casualities in occupied Germany and occupied Japan in 1949 at the rate we're taking them today in Iraq, how friendly do you think the press and American people would have been toward the administration and the occupation?
You have a whole generation of Iraqi's that know nothing but Saddam. Hard to change that mentality. It's also been said that the Iraqi's do not have the mental capability to defend themselves today. Our own military is afraid of this fact. The whole country needs to be re-educated because of Saddam. I think that once Saddam is hung, we will pull out and let those people take care of themselves. We will not leave as long as Saddam is alive for fear they will release him.
It's too bad that the Iraqis whose reactions really mattered were in Iraq, unable to make it to the White House for lunch. Foreign policy based on wishful thinking rarely turns out well (see Woodrow Wilson).
"How does one “reform” a cancer? It appears we need a new strategy for combating Islamic terror. But I’m not sure we have it in us to do what probably needs to be done."
Amen to that. And, our mass assumption that Iraq would love democracy just makes them all the more angry. We need to do whatever it takes to translate mass conversion to Islam is not an option. IMHO.
Failure to secure Iraq borders!
"The Dems don't even know who the enemy is."
They think its the Republicans.
Other than that, it was well done. (Sarcasm)
Other than that, it was well done. (Sarcasm)
Quit reading right there! I am sick of this crap. WHERE are these people getting this 80% number??? No one has ever answered that question.
They didn't believe there would be any resistance once Saddam's government fell.
There wasn't much of a resistance for the first year, with the exception of the ramadamadingdong month and the battle for Fallujah. Casualties prove this!
Mar-03 - 58
Apr-03 - 50
May-03 - 8
Jun-03 - 18
Jul-03 - 28
Aug-03 - 16
Sep-03 - 18
Oct-03 - 33
Nov-03 - 69
Dec-03 - 25
Jan-04 - 39
Feb-04 - 12
Then of course al-queda got their operatives set up and went to work while inflaming the sunnis.
As you rightly point out: Their god is Satan. They worship oppression and glory in death. How could democracy take root in such an environment? Sharansky and Bush may be right to a point – that in the heart of every human beats a desire for freedom and dignity. But the prerequisite here is that it must beat in a human heart, and what Islam breeds is inhumanity.
Their failure to plan for a resistance and failure to make things so bad that a resistance couldn't be mounted is why we have the situation we have today.
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