Hit the link for the rest of this article, it provides a very cogent analysis of the work that must be done in Iraq by the USA, and why that work needs to be done. A very refereshing perspective.
Hit the link for the rest of this article, it provides a very cogent analysis of the work that must be done in Iraq by the USA, and why that work needs to be done. A very refereshing perspective.
bump - excellent analysis
Our problems are not IN Iraq. They are, to some extent, WITH Iran, but much more so, here at home, WITH Democrat party leadership and rabid liberal contingent in the media and “activist” organizations.
bump
That's Iraq. For thirty years the people in power learned that life meant arresting, torturing and killing anyone you didn't like. It meant appropriating the country's resources and the people's efforts for your own gratification. The rest of the country learned that feeding one's family and often mere survival requires one to lie, cheat and steal. Perhaps hand a neighbor over to the police to avoid suffering a horrid fate yourself.
As this reporter points out, you can't turn such a damaged society into a democracy on just a year or two. Nathan Sharansky (sp?) made the same points in his book. "Democracy" can't mean one man, one vote, one time. If Hizbulla, Hamas and Al Qaida can force people to vote them into power that's not an election any more than Saddam's 100% sweep was. The root of the word election is about a choice. AK-47s remove that choice. Same with Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. We figured capitalism and democracy would solve everything. Al Gore sent billions that ended up in the mafia's hands and Russia fell into depression.
Respect for basic human rights has to be the norm before a representative government can emerge. That means the people accept that honesty, hard work and respect for others' rights are the only acceptable characteristics for citizenship. They have to see that this will result in a better life than the one they've been living for thirty years. That means a carrot and a stick. People who do what's right have to see good results - jobs, prosperity, freedom. People who don't have to be slammed as they are tearing Iraq apart. But you can't throw someone in jail for stealing to feed his family if there are no legitimate ways to feed them. Widespread profitable employment would dry up the recruiting grounds. You won't build and place an IED for $1,000 if you can make the same money legitimately and working for the terrorists means facing execution if caught.
I really hope Gen. Petreaus' "moral high ground" memo was strictly for show to appease the PC crowd. We need to infiltrate and execute the terrorists before they strike. We're not going to do that without getting our hands dirty. We can't win a war by being buried on the moral high ground. The Iraqi people will see Al Qaida as winning because we were too weak-willed to exercise our power. Once they believe Al Qaida will win it's back to the Jungle - survival by any means possible. Civilization goes back out the window. Like the battles fought for rock creature in the original Star Trek series, the tactics have already been decided. There's no way to fight fire with legal briefs.
Assumption: Many places, especially in the Middle East have similar problems. Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, lots of other 'stans, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Iran. Question: Can this part of the world be saved? If so, how?
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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The Iraq War may yet prove an interesting chapter in Capitalism texts.
Her biggest oversight is she fails to mention how successfully our enemies are in playing our Liberals off against genuine American interests.