I didn't finish my final thought before accidentally hitting the send instead of save button:
>I believe at a motivation level we did what in our heart we know is right -- >overturning dictators, bringing democracy and freedom to oppressed people (you >really do ignore the positive aspects of the conflict in deference to a view >that is uniformly (and thus unnaturally) black), and planting the roots of >peaceful coexistence among nations--and it's not oil bribes, which was our >previous approach. Unfortunately the human condition is such that such an >endeavor cannot be taken lightly and I think our leaders at the time sold the >solution on the wrong basis. WMD possession was considered a safe bet, and >nobody (repeat: NOBODY) seriously contemplated "what if we're wrong?" and so >over-hyping of that aspect of the argument overshadowed others that were as it >were "more valid". In otherwords they sold the sizzle without selling the >steak. I don't think their motives were all the ridiculous things you insist, >and I think if you could learn a little charity, you'd find my curren! t view! ,! > which is really my previous view (prior to 9-11), is a lot like yours on the > question of exporting democracy. Prior to 911 I would have said it was > folly--indeed, I hold leaders like Wilson in low esteem because of it (and by > the way much of what Wilson did in the ME, carving it up based on political > expediency and bureaucratic concensus rather than letting the people of the > Arab world make their own boundaries) is part of the root cause of the > problem today). Bush is sooner Wilson than Churchill, after all. Biden's > scheme of carving Iraq up into three parts is no different than the same > mistakes made before, either. > >To quote Burke: A conscientious man would be cautious how he dealt in blood. > >Unfortunately, our enemies are less conscientious and appear to love blood at >a level that frightens our modern sensibilities in profound ways. And while >you can rail against the neo-cons all you want, let's not forget the evil >forces out there that make our neo cons look more like clowns than boogey-men. >I mean, obviously, the islamo nazis, but not-so-obviously, I also mean the >ChiComs and even our "buddy" Putin, who has developed a habit lately of >murdering political opponents that really ought to concern us more than... ... putting on some kind of nuremburg circus over essentially badly executed public policy, on the pretense that it will impress the world for our good-intentioned-ness. - Bob > >> >>Bill >> >> >> >>> - Bob >>> >> >> >> [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
