I support the hunt for terrorists. Nation building is a fool’s errand. Democracy must emerge from pre-existing institutions — it cannot be forced on people from the top-down.
Kind of curious, how about weighing the cost/benefit ratio of the historical nation building (or rebuilding) we taken part in over history.. What does history show us about this?
While you are at it, weigh the cost/benefit ratio of the conflicts we abandoned.
Patreus is doing it from the bottom up. Opening factories and giving the people what all people want... an opportunity. It took us 11 year just to ratify our own constitution. Why does everyone expect success already?