> The only thing the US can do to avoid what lies ahead is to withdraw fully, > now, declaring victory for the deposition of Saddam Hussein and leaving > behind a UN transition assistance role. > > Cheers, > Lawry >
I don't think it can do that, Lawry. It's got itself in far too deeply. To withdraw now would be taken as a capitulation and huge sign of weakness to all of the forces arrayed against it throughout the Muslim world. It has to hang in and be prepared to put its money where its mouth is. As Niall Ferguson argues, it's taken on the role of empire, and it had better be prepared to play that role even if Bush turns out to be a one term president and a saner bunch takes over in Washington. Ed Weick ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 8:40 AM Subject: RE: [Futurework] Will Bush become a Shia Moslem? Glass half-full or glass half empty? > Brad said: > > I was wondering yesterday whether what we're seeing in Iraq is > > glass half-full or glas half-empty, i.e., is it a "basically" > > stabilized situation with "pockets" of trouble, or is it > > already another in the long line of places like "Vietnam" and > > "Chechnya", i.e., places where the colonial power is esentially > > on the defensive even if there are pockets of "stability"? > > > Good question, Brad. Iraq is going to get a LOT worse for the US presence > there, and for our remaining standing internationally. The Iraqis are > learning how to fight back, and their successes, minor to date, will build > on each other. In a study of Palestinian violence and the Israeli actions, > I concluded that the Israelis had inadvertently created the perfect learning > environment for Palestinian resistance. The US presence in Iraq has not > created an environment as perfect for the Iraqis, but is close enough. > > The only thing the US can do to avoid what lies ahead is to withdraw fully, > now, declaring victory for the deposition of Saddam Hussein and leaving > behind a UN transition assistance role. > > Cheers, > Lawry > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
