Now why don't you give your thoughts behind: "... Iraq, which will be far less challenging than Afghanistan?"
I was talking about rebuilding Iraq, rather than fighting it. As you know. You were the one who brought up rebuilding Japan and Germany, so you had to know.
With respect to rebuilding Germany, the New York Times just reviewed a new book about the fall of Berlin. After the Russians were through with the Germans and the Prussians, the defeated were smashed flat. Sure, Germany was the land of Beethoven and Schiller, but for years, real intellectuals were hounded out of the universities and out of the country, and only party hacks survived in academe and the arts.
nytimes.com
With respect to fighting Iraq, I agree with all your points but #2 and #3.
(2) Afghanistan was surrounded by countries that supported US intervention, Iraq apparently has none.
Wrong. Israel is the obvious exception, but we also have the support of Russia, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey, at a minimum, all countries which surround or are near Iraq. We will also have the tacit support of Iran, and possibly Georgia.
(3) The US had UN, NATO, and EU support in Afghanistan, not Iraq.
Those countries which oppose the unilateral use of force will sign on if the UN Security Council oks it.
If the UN Security Council doesn't ok it, I predict that we will go in anyway.
The only thing which might stop us would be for the UN Security Counsel to rule that they don't really want Iraq to comply with all the unmet resolutions. |
