can do, Rascal@ cheermeup.com :
Lots of good things happening in the world:
1. the Germans are pacifists (consider the alternative)
2. the Japanese, the S. Koreans, much of Europe, is pacifist. and there is an emerging global alliance to block U.S. Unilateralism.
3. win or lose, the Iraqi War has zero legitimacy, with France and Russia vetoing the UN SC resolution.
4. on the rest of the RegimeChange list (#3 N. Korea, #4Libya, #5Iran, #6Syria, #7 Saudi Arabia, etc.), there are no regimes that are as easy targets as Iraq. So, this Administration will be forced to adopt different methods. We'll see a lot less Stick, and a lot more Carrot. Or maybe just a lot more Talk, and a lot less Action.
5. the Administration has apparently decided to back Sharon's West Bank colonization policy without limit. Locally, this is a bad thing. But the global implications, is that it makes it that much harder for any nation to ally with the U.S. Hegemony, which will make NationChanging harder globally. Bad for the Palestinians, good for everyone else: net good. If Bush were cleverer, he would realize that backing the Israelis to the hilt, makes everything else he wants to do harder.
6. I saved the best for last: Bush is not clever. He has displayed a total lack of the coalition-building skills his daddy has. He is overconfident. He doesn't flexibly change tactics/plans when they don't work. This Administration's Learning Curve is flat, as they have substituted Resolve for Realism. Bush is going to be a much easier opponent for pacifists than, say, Nixon or Johnson. We beat them, we can beat him.
JS@cryingandlaughing.com |
