Arne Fulkin posted this on another thread and it bears repeating. It is the "hopeful scenario" - one which, if encased in prayer, we can move towards. Of course, ther eis the "bad case" scenario that you mention which is always a possibility. If so, if the worst case happens, this nation is over anyway. But, if we refuse to take on the one nation which more than any other is ruled by a psychopath ready and willing to attack neighbors in the region as he has done many times in the past - we are over as a nation anyway. "
Here's what Arne wrote:
"We don't understand the dynamic here on FR, but it is real -our less informed neighbors and fellow citizens just wanted to see Bush addressing the U.N. in a spirit of fellowship and cooperation. They wanted that base covered before we embark on military endeavors. Is it useless? We know it is! But, the folks out there - good willed Americans watching "American Idol" and lost in their Fantasy Football rosters - still think the U.N. is some moral beacon that should be involved. We're not going to need ANYTHING from the U.N. to execute this mission. Nobody is going to pay attention to the nuances of foreign support after seeing that video of Bush standing up before the World body today. That's what they needed to see. If the American people sign off, the gutless twerps in D.C. will jump on board. When America shows its resolve and success, the twerps in Europe will rush the bandwagon. Bush is playing the game. Tony Blair sees the winner, and is setting himself and the Brits up as the most influential player in the new Europe. Putin is on board, even though he can't openly support the Iraq campaign because of Russian industrial interests there.
Saddam and his regime of brutality are toast. When Saddam is gone, Iran will burn from within. Millions of Iranians have been demonstrating in the streets against the Tehran despots for months. When Iran and Iraq are cooked, the operational tools, financing and protections that only a Nation-State can supply to a worldwide terrorist movement will disappear. Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan will eradicate their terrorist ties and remove destructive individuals. Hezbollah and Hamas will be fiscally defanged. Arafat will hang. We won't need the Saudis for oil anymore. The Chinese will understand that Bush is not to be challenged regarding sacred commitments to Taiwan. Iraq is the catylist for all of this."
Either way, I have no doubts but that this nation will perervere and overcome the evil and gadiantons we face (both internal and external). It is simply a matter, IMHO, of how much pain we go through to get there ... and that is a matter of which way we chose as a people to be humble before the Creator ... either willingly on our own, resulting in less hardship, or the harder path.
In the end ... this is what my SERIES is really all about.
God bless.
There is some of that. but also there is more than just the feel-good aspect of "being nice". there is the real political and diplomatic cover of multilateralism. We go in now, and we can hand it off as a UN peacekeeping mission later - rather than choosing to leave Iraq in anarchy or become their colonizers, which has longer negative consequences wrt the Arab world. ... you have to think larger than Saddam. We need legitimacy and allies to help create a stable state in this region.
We dont need the UN to win the war, but we do need allies to make the peace something we can live with.
the gutless twerps in D.C. will jump on board. When America shows its resolve and success, the twerps in Europe will rush the bandwagon.
Agreed. great speech by Bush, it put the UN on notice to be relevent. It put Saddam on notice - your days are numbered.
Now its time to pray for the troops in the coming conflict ...