Thank you for proving my point. We have no "empire." That's propaganda.
Posted on 09/25/2003 7:54:01 PM PDT by Burkeman1
George, here's what to do in Iraq: Declare victory and bring the troops home.
A senator from Vermont once suggested such a policy during the Vietnam War. It would have meant a defeat. In this case, it might mean chaos, at least for a while, unless you can get more international help.
You asked for help from the U.N. That was good. Get back to them and say, "We're serious. We're on a fast track to leave."
To America's soldiers, you can say: "You're fighters, not social workers. The fighting's done, excellent work, and you can start going home."
Thousands of American families will thank you.
To the American people, you can say: "We've changed our minds about the occupation of Iraq. We'll need only part of that $87 billion I asked for. The rest you can keep."
Watch your poll numbers go up.
The warrior intellectuals — the neoconservatives — will bellow. Let them. They don't have any electoral votes. The American people never bought their "neo-Wilsonian" fantasies of empire. Asserting American dominance was never your argument for war. You said Americans had to depose Saddam Hussein in order to protect themselves.
That's done.
Our occupation of Iraq is not yet six months old and already Iraqis are making sure that we tire of it. This will not tend to get better. An antiwar feeling has arisen in the United States, and Howard Dean, a nobody from a small state, has ridden it to the head of the pack. Dean says he wouldn't have gone to war in the first place. Few notice that Dean also says we ought to stay in Iraq to do nation-building.
"Well, Howard," you can say, "I'm bringing the troops home. If you're elected, you can send them back."
Would America be giving up if we did that? We would be giving up the right to reconstruct Iraq our way. We would not be giving up anything the average American cares about.
Certainly, the American people would accept a change in policy. They have accepted the official story from the start — the weapons of mass destruction, the "link" between Saddam and bin Laden, the "Woman Warrior" story about Pvt. Jessica Lynch. They are not paying much attention to Iraq. They will accept a pullout.
Consider the alternative: Five years of occupation. Maybe 10. Bombs, demonstrations, dead Americans.
Think of the Democrats. In 2002 you beat them by offering to save America from a foreign threat. If you do that in 2004, you're going to be in trouble. Americans get tired of wars that drag on and on, and tend to toss out the political party that does the dragging. Look up the election of 1952. Also 1968. Ask your dad about the political shelf-life of military victory. It is less than one year.
Think of the economy. Business has been terrible since you became president. The people have been pretty forgiving about that. They know the dot-com bust was not your doing (nor Clinton's, really). You have given the people a tax cut, and Alan Greenspan has given them rock-bottom interest rates. In normal times, these would produce a snapping recovery. But war sits on business confidence like a fat man on a dog.
Your war, a Republican war, of which the politically profitable part is over. We are now in the losing part. The occupation of Iraq could drag on well past November 2004.
But you can forestall that. Lean on the U.N. for troops. Lean on the Egyptians; they owe us a favor or two for the billions we've doled out to them. Speed up the creation of an Iraqi government. You don't need to wait for elections. That's Iraq's business.
Then you can announce that most of the troops will be home by Christmas and you will not be needing all of that $87 billion.
Watch Wall Street jump. The dollar, too.
Nobody expects you to do this. It will shock your friends, but what's more, it will confound your enemies. It will also steer the Republican Party back toward that nationalistic but "humble" foreign policy you described three years ago, which best suits the interests, and the patience, of those who might vote for you in 2004.
Bruce Ramsey's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is bramsey@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company
No, I'm pointing out that if a head of state wrecks his nation and its economy, he'd better have a lot of other benefit to show for the effort--particularly something more than regaining some colonies that never produced a profit.
That is a curious position that needs more line shone upon it. Have I accurately stated your position?
No, you haven't.
Bruce here's a bit of career advice: think mop, broom, service station toilets.
My ancestors and relatives have been a part of every war this country ever fought, from the Revolution to my brother currently serving in Afghanistan.
I'm sorry that your relatives have had such bad experiences in our Armed Forces that you now despise everyone who defends our country, even while you depend on them to protect you.
I'd be willing to bet that your folks have had really bad experiences in the private sector as well, and the world just hasn't been fair to them.
Thanks for the ping, Cut -- I think. I hate to know that people with this sort of attitude frequent FR.
You'll forgive me (or maybe not) if I take your assertion of not being a Rand cultist with a grain of salt, considering your selection of one of their role models (fictional, of course [as they all are]) as your screen name, plus your virtual parroting of the Liberaltarian Party Platform in your posts and thread discussions.
who favored radical localism and secession.
Straight Republican voter,
Well, the secession idea is sure right off the main plank of the GOP Party National Platform. < /sarcasm>
BTW, which apparently, you have not always been.
True enough. I went through a real stupid phase for a while. What can I say? I was stoned out of my gourd most of the time. Why I was even so stupid, I actually believed for years that novels were a valid basis for political goals. Is'nt that a hoot?
Unlike the tendencey of those who have been corrupted by Marxists, I do not define myself or others by ideology.
Yes! O ye of mighty mind, deign to drop some more of your priceless wisdom, that I and the rest of ignorant and foolish masses might someday obtain a small glimmer of your intellectual capacity, superior character, and purity of heart. Lead us fools to The Ultimate Truth, O ye of the Evolved Intellect! Post to me some more, that I may gain an infintessimile piece of your Overarching Knowledge.
Political parties are a waste of time; time better spent with wifie or having a beer on the couch with the ballgame on.
Yeah, I know. I got a wife once I stopped the parties--political or otherwise. Then she agreed that I needed to do some work for the GOP. I would rather have the ballgame (diet Coke for me, please), but some things can actually get my buttocks in motion to get the right people into office.
BTW, thanks for pinging to the Bloviating Babs piece; that was thoughtful (I think ;-) ). It got pulled as a duplicate; maybe you can ping me to whatever thoughts you had on the original post.
Not gonna happen. Thanks to Seattle and Bruce Ramsey for the suggestion, anyway. But, reality isn't necessarily the first idea you get in your head at age 3.
Empire in the original Roman sense - a system of client states, allies, obligations, military bases and protectorats. The emperor was the "first among the equals" - a citizen being in charge of the empire.
Thank you for proving my point. We have no "empire." That's propaganda.
Regarding your remarks "May your chains rest lightly upon you" I properly return them to you since you believe being patriotic means worshipping the power of the state. For you it isn't even "my country right or wrong" it's "my country always right" so you embrace the liberal world view of global government, wealth redistribution and continuous war. You help forge the chains that will enslave us all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.