The real "Shock and Awe" of the war was the realization by the world of just how good our Military is. No Army in the world can stand up to them. The only ones who could even give them a hard time are the Brits and the Israelis, our best allies.
It's hard to believe that anyone was shocked at that, although the awe is appropriate, IMO. I must say that they were even better than I expected, in absolute terms, but I was well aware that they were in another league entirely from the rest of the world, with the exceptions you cited. If I knew it, I'd be surprised if the French and the Russians and everybody else didn't know it. They might have been in denial, but they couldn't have been ignorant. I don't think we needed to throw our weight around to prove that we were the biggest kid on the block. When you're operating from a position of obviously outsized strength, it's unseemly.
Re the rope a dope, I can't argue that we would have gotten the French and Russians on board or that we wouldn't have ended up alone in any case. But if there were any chance, the unilateral attitude killed it. And it's off-putting at best in any case. It didn't start with 9-11. It started with Kyoto, at least that was the first I noticed it. Not that I support Kyoto, mind you, but the go-to-hell tone was there at the outset. It was no different than the tone of the early Clinton WH when they swooped in and started firing tenured employees. It's so distasteful. You know, the groundwork for Kyoto was begun in Rio under Bush I. If for no other reason than it started as a Republican initiative, it shouldn't have gotten such short shrift. To be so utterly dismissive of it when for a decade we were working toward it, at least ostensibly, was unimaginably rude and undiplomatic. I'm glad it's not being ratified, but we could have managed to avoid that without pissing off the whole world. So you're right, the international approach might not have worked any way, but if we lost that battle, at least we could have done it with a little class and a few chips left to use for later.
Regarding being alone, though, I have to scratch my head over that. I'm a pretty confident person, I know myself and I know my own mind. But if I found everybody lined up in the other camp, I would stop for a moment and reflect on whether I wasn't perhaps missing something. It takes extraordinary arrogance or some sort of delusion to charge full speed ahead when the whole world is telling you you're off base. If I decided to proceed anyway, I would have at the ready an analysis that demonstrated that I fully understood the arguments on the other side and had sound basis for taking an alternate route. And something, like this post of yours, that indicates that I had given the arguments on the other side at least a modicum of consideration. I wouldn't just dismiss the arguments as rubbish.
The French/Russians bought the "weaklings" argument about us also.
We're not out of the woods on the weaklings front yet. If we don't stay committed despite the body bags and the drain on the treasury, that old label will be back and we will have gained nothing. If we quit one minute prematurely, we will have confirmed the label in the eyes of the world, and paid a pretty price for it.
Part of our difference in reaction is probably a Venus/Mars situation, Karen.
Yes, that's probably part of it, although I don't personally score particularly Venus for a woman. I think it's more a question of maturity. I'm trained and practiced in handling difficult situations constructively. It may be simply Mars-ish to get into bar fights. I simply think of it as weak, out of control, short-sighted, and juvenile. I don't find that attractive in a man. I think a man should be a mensch, someone with strength and perspective and dignity, not a banty rooster. And I prefer that in a President, as well.
As long as they see progress in Iraq, they will support Bush.
It will take more than what the Dems are offering at this point to beat Bush, IMO. I certainly don't see anything there that tickles my fancy. I couldn't pull the lever for either of the offerings last election and I don't expect to be able to this time either. It doesn't matter because my vote doesn't count anyway. My state will go Republican no matter what. I expect Bush to be around for four more years and I'm reconciled to that. No, I don't hate him. I was hoping for the best based on the campaign but he has disappointed me at just about every turn, time after time after time until I no longer expect anything from him. I think he's done the most damage of any President we've had in my lifetime, not even close. And we may not yet have seen the worst of it. I was thinking about that earlier today when I was posting about Reagan. I think that Reagan had the biggest positive influence of any President in my lifetime. Also not even close. Quite a juxtaposition, the two of them.
So, as you can see, the likelihood of Bush winning me over is in slim-to-none territory. I don't know how many like me there are. I don't know if any of them will be able to find an alternative candidate. I don't think it matters and Bush is probably a lock. Mostly I'd like to see a good debate, but I probably won't get that, either. |
