03-25-2003, 05:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-25-2003, 05:15 PM by Occhidiangela.)
The 'liberation' of Iraq is at best a collateral benefit IF the operation takes down the current repressive regime, but as I asked in another thread, what then for the people of Iraq?
The rhetoric has been dumbed down, I guess, because either no one can conceive of a population who would understand nuance, or because the PoV of the policy makers, and the legislators who they convinced to back them, is simply that no other means can accomplish an end at creating a long term situation in the Persian Gulf that is less likely to boil over.
Sort of a matter of cleaning out the septic tank so that you can keep using the toilet without it flowing over.
The sound bytes that I have heard on the news don't do justice to the very complex relationships in that region, both ours and that of our allies. I think they are designed to feed folks who do not have to look long term.
And of course, a known risk is that this attempt to forcibly stabalize an area may have the effect of destabalizing it.
Inaction being seen as ineffective, the attempt was made for a unified multilateral action to achieve an effect, and the unity was unattainable, either due to entrenched interests or due to a lack of finesse and craft in Washington. Hard to say, but the public pronouncements do not instill confidence in many people's minds in re statecraft as a dead or dying art in Washington, since about 1992. This says as much about the lack of depth of our legislators, such as in the Senate where treaties are approved, who have to fund all policies, as it does about the Executive Branch of the past 12 years.
The rhetoric has been dumbed down, I guess, because either no one can conceive of a population who would understand nuance, or because the PoV of the policy makers, and the legislators who they convinced to back them, is simply that no other means can accomplish an end at creating a long term situation in the Persian Gulf that is less likely to boil over.
Sort of a matter of cleaning out the septic tank so that you can keep using the toilet without it flowing over.
The sound bytes that I have heard on the news don't do justice to the very complex relationships in that region, both ours and that of our allies. I think they are designed to feed folks who do not have to look long term.
And of course, a known risk is that this attempt to forcibly stabalize an area may have the effect of destabalizing it.
Inaction being seen as ineffective, the attempt was made for a unified multilateral action to achieve an effect, and the unity was unattainable, either due to entrenched interests or due to a lack of finesse and craft in Washington. Hard to say, but the public pronouncements do not instill confidence in many people's minds in re statecraft as a dead or dying art in Washington, since about 1992. This says as much about the lack of depth of our legislators, such as in the Senate where treaties are approved, who have to fund all policies, as it does about the Executive Branch of the past 12 years.
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete