FirmhandKY
Posts: 8948
Joined: 9/21/2004 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Noah You offered some credible evidence as to how the surge was affecting the resolve of someone on the scene. It struck me as a good idea. Of the five Iraqi blogs I found in a quick search, two hadn't posted since the surge. The other three speak for themselves. I believe that well-intentioned, thinking people can disagree, and discuss their divergent views, KY. Does your attack on my character constitutes calm discussion, in your view? Maybe that is one more area where you and I disagree. Noah, Your second posts gives me quite a different take from my reading of what you were attempting to do in your first post. I've told you before that I respect your intellect and writing skills, but you are also well known for having a sharp wit when using your skills here in the forums. So I apologize for the tone of my reply, although not for the underlying concepts. quote:
ORIGINAL: Noah Do I bear some responsibility for the carnage? Yes, I think I do, but not on the ground that you cite. I don't believe a military solution can be imposed on Iraq by the United States. Early on I was ambivalent on this but I'm strongly resolved to the view now. That being my view I think a lot of innocent people and some very guilty ones are dying each day to make things worse, as it were, rather than to make things better. In addition, I'm concered at how little attention is given to what I see as the greatest victory of the terrorists to date. I'm referring to the fact that you and I no longer have habeus corpus rights. And since those are the rights by which we may assert any other legal right, I think we are in a major pickle. If I were attacking a democracy which professed to bring Democracy to the world, and could choose between destroying a city, on the one hand, and severely undercutting the political rights of that country on the other hand, I'd attack the rights. I believe the bad guys can't beat us in war-fighting but they can play us to endless stalemate there. And since they fight a lot more cheaply than us they can "make" us spend ourselves into the ground, just as we did to the Soviets. And along the way we bolster terrorist recruitment in ways and to degrees which would be anachieveable without our complicity. I think we are faced with some diabolical strategists, and that current US policy plays directly into their hands. And I'll fight for your right to disagree. Good post. I do understand and appreciate your moral position. Your points are valid to the extent as far as they go, and are consistent with a lot of good thinkers on the subject. But I disagree about several things, primarily concerning your definition of the "military" aspect. Yes, the US Armed forces are the major players on our side there. And a major weakness of most armed forces in a situation such as Iraq comes from the "if all you have is a hammer, then all your problems are nails" way of thinking. In the one of the last couple of threads were I talked much about the war in Iraq, I posted a link to an article that discussed Gen Petrious and the current military strategy in Iraq. Before he gained command, and was able to implement the new strategy, I was also unconvinced that there would be a "good end" to the mission. Now, I think there is a very good possibility that we can achieve what we need to ... if we stick with it. I will say that I'm ex-military, and I've always been interested in unconventional warfare and have actively be a part of that military milieu, so this isn't just something that I am grasping out for in desperation to recover from an untenable situation. If Petrious can have the time, and the support of the US, the odds are very high that all the death and destruction will have been worth something. Right now, while I can understand and sympathize with your point of view, the biggest danger to success is no longer the Iraqi's opposing us, but the voices of despair and defeat here at home. Our biggest obstacle to success is no longer our putative opponents in Iraq, but our good hearted and good nature compatriots here at home. My point in posting the link was to point out that by waivering now, the results will not only be the waste of the effort and lives lost so far, but an even larger terrible tragedy in Iraq. FirmKY
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Some people are just idiots.
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