<<We're screwed with increasing opposition in Iraq, alienation of the world, and a deficit, caused by "Welfare for the Wealthy," that will be a major burden to our children. I'm glad Bush is against "Nation Building".>>
...Gee, Fred, it almost sounds like you regret supporting the war ;-)
Interestingly, a friend of mine who was staunchly pro-Bush through the election and 9-11/Afghanistan just recently came to the conclusion that Bush is an idiot. Seems as though the morning after in Iraq is spawning many regrets.
And, for a bit of irony, I am starting to find myself making the case that the situation in Iraq is not as bad as it appears.
...Consider that we took over Iraq amid a litany of sins - no international support, deep distrust of our motives, no plan for replacing the government that we were chasing out, and only soldiers to do "policing". That we ended up with a mess on our hands was inevitable.
...But, despite our ham-handedness - the general population has stayed pacified, the rate of casualties form the guerilla resistance has stayed pretty constant - despite a call to arms from Al Qaida and raspberries from several of the prominent clerics. The spate of sabotage of the infrastructure seems to have abated. The opposition has started going to high profile bombings ( a sign that the grass roots resistance is not gaining momentum).
...Add to that the fact that Bremmer is pretty much able to stay out of the news (i.e. no gaffs and staying focused on teh work). And the admin is making almost humble overtures to the international community. And the French/German/Russian opposition is bypassing the easy snubs.
So what you have in Iraq is a mess that is not getting worse and is probably getting better. And a bumbling administration that is now looking past the politics in an effort to get much needed help.
...If Iraq were a beaten down stock then I'd be taking a risk position right about now! |
