Posted on 03/06/2022 8:09:37 AM PST by ChicagoConservative27
Yes. If politicians would admit their mistakes,
same standard of judging to them as to our selves.
Do we learn from mistakes? Will we let them learn? or cut them off at their knees.
Now, Trump is one of the best examples of someone that fails their way to success that I know. But we focus on a few mistakes and don’t even see all the wins he had.
If a batter hits what percent makes him good?
Can't remember where I got this but it should be our Foreign Policy:
200 years from now, I want their children's children's children to cower and cringe in fear whenever they hear the sounds of jet engines overhead because their legends tell of fire from the sky.
I want them to hide in dark caves and holes in the earth, shivering with terror whenever they hear the roar of diesel engines because the tales of their ancestors talk about metal monsters crawling over the earth, spitting death and destruction.
I want their mothers to be able to admonish them with "If you don't behave, the Pale Destroyers will come for you", and that will be enough to reduce them to quivering obedience.
I want the annihilation to be so complete that their mythology will tell them of the day of judgment when the stern gods from across the sea .. the powerful 'Mericans .. destroyed their forefathers' wickedness.
Blair didn’t have to go and be a grunt. So, for him it was the right thing to do.
In Afghanistan, the destruction of the Taliban was the right thing to do. The subsequent attempt to transform the country into a democracy capable of defending itself (like we supposed had accomplished in Iraq) was totally stupid.
Regarding Iraq, invading Iraq wasn’t as stupid as attempting to transform Afghanistan into a democracy capable of defending itself. I opposed the invasion in real time, but I didn’t think the other position was totally stupid.
It turns out “we” erred (not me, I opposed it in real time) in three big ways:
1.We had limited ability to field a peacekeeping force. We thought the Blue Helmets of the U.N. would show up.
2.We underestimated the sectarian divides in Iraq.
3.And, we overestimated the willingness of Iraqis to defend their country (in comparison, consider the willingness of Iraqi Kurds to defend Iraqi Kurdistan).
There are lessons in both mistakes.
1.Consider privatizing security operations. Iraq has enormous oil reserves. The oil could have financed private companies defending production, etc.
2.Consider incremental options. How about declaring a southern no fly zone (similar to the northern no fly zone in Iraqi Kurdistan)? Then, if the Marsh Arabs would rise to their own defense, that segment of Iraq could evolve into a functioning government.
3.DO NOT EVER THINK that providing free stuff wins “hearts and minds.” Welfare breeds laziness, greed and contempt. You can never do enough for others. They have to do for themselves. Freedom isn’t free stuff. Here, I quote “Starship Trooper”:
“A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic defending it with his life.”
What we’re seeing in Ukraine are citizens.
Russia has far more valid national security concerns than we or the Brits did to invade Iraq.
The narrative, however, always is more important than truth.
Nation building can only be done if you control all aspects of the conquered society. And I mean All!
We were unwilling to do that there so we were left with “half-assing” it. And got the completely preictable results.
Note in both cases “nation buliding” at any level was a fools errand! In both cases we should have left after leaving the place in ruins as punishing for messing with Uncle Sam or not gone in at all!
Both invasions met near universal approval here on FR.
I supported the Iraq War, but I believe now that they lied about the WMDS. I’m not saying all of them, such as Rumsfeld lied.
Who gives a crap what globalist Blair thinks? Climb back in your hole Tony.
On this site 20 years ago you didn’t dare question either invasion or get lambasted
It’s interesting how the general consensus among conservatives has changed, maybe in a good way
"Pray to god you don't drop that s___!"
mmmm yellow cake... 😋
As much as it pains me to admit it, I also had to agree with him.
I'm not sure the invasions were wrong, but the way we "fought" the wars, were totally stupid.
Purple ink on the finger that they use to wipe their ass, when an illiterate "votes".
Bush Democracy at its finest.
Leaving people and $80 billion behind when we abandon the badlands, pure slow joe logic.
Why did we stay almost twenty years? Should have blown up all the jihadist leaders and left with notes left saying "we'll be back."
But no. Bush and Obama (with Biden) and even Trump stayed too long. In, boom, and out. Six months to a year....
Yup. We seem to be good at that sort of things these days.
Iraq was different. In that case we were invading a sovereign country that hadn't attacked us because our leader said we had to do it to prevent future danger with the goal of regine change. Ukaraine is totally different story, where Russia is invading a sovereign country because Russia's leader said they have to do it to prevent future danger with the goal of regime change.
I cant see how anyone could draw a serious comparison between the two.
but climate change.
Afghanistan was a slam dunk. But I had misgivings about Iraq and I recall plenty of people did. At the time my thinking (as I posted here) was that Bush had told us we HAD to go in because he had seen irrefutable intelligence that Saddam had WMDs and was planning to give them to terrorists. Obviously there was a lot of "I can't show you the evidence but trust me" there. I reasoned that Bush was either telling the truth or he was lying to manipulate us into an unnecessary war for unstated reasons. If he was lying, therefore, he was one evil SOB and I just didn't think he was an evil SOB. So I supported the war.
Plot twist: Bush is an evil SOB.
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