The Iraq War retrospective Thread

[Vandiablo]

There is a difference between dogma and sarcasm that is not easy to read into the text. :)

If the sarcasm is reinforcing the dogma, then it is also dogma.

My only point is that you shouldn't delude yourself into thinking Mr. Obama's rule will change anything other than perhaps the subject toward which we are supposed to be afraid.

In a previous post (IIRC) you were talking about how the jihadists don't care who it is or what they say. True enough. So you can't change them. What can be changed are the moderates in the countries where jihadists are generated.

Bush started off well, getting Pakistan on his side. However, all the bungling in Iraq (some of which was not the administration's fault, but certainly the lion's share is theirs) has been horrific for public opinion in those places, and their governments are harder pressed to crack down on militants. Why'd they let the Cole bomber go? It seems that a score of American lives was only worth a couple years in jail, no more.

Perhaps more emphasis on empathy will prevent more trouble than emphasis on the retribution. The president should keep up the "big stick", but in public we should see more "speak softly".

If everyone would take off their rose colored glasses, they would see that even Ms. Clinton was terribly unqualified. etc etc

Yeah, the last 7.5 years we've had a "qualified" guy and see what that got us.

I think by your standards the last two "unqualified" presidents were Kennedy and Truman, and you'd find Lincoln on the list too.

-V