SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Moderate Forum
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: rrufff who wrote (4762)11/30/2003 11:09:06 AM
From: Dale Baker  Read Replies (4) of 20773
 
Just a generic point about arguments and logic - I see this pattern often on SI's political threads: assuming an opposition group's reaction to a hypothetical situation that will never happen then condemning them for that assumed reaction.

Imagine someone saying that the Democrats could be given the chance to cure cancer but they wouldn't because they want to have a class of suffering victims to pander to and use for their own political ends. Or let's say the Republicans have a chance to spread capitalist wealth to every last American citizen using a magic free-market formula, but they are too greedy and elitist to want to see inferior social classes share in the wealth and the power.

(Note how absurd these arguments are given both parties' history in power of supporting efforts that reduced suffering from disease and improved everyone's chances to be more prosperous.)

I have seen less crude variations of both arguments made on SI and on hate-talk radio. They are total nonsense but they serve the purpose of the propagandists who peddle them.

You have your opinions on French motives and actions, fine. I haven't seen anyone on SI who knows France and French foreign policy (myself included) well enough to do more than string together a few anecdotes or assumptions then draw a conclusion from that.

But to say that the the rest of the world would fail in Iraq if offered the opportunity is totally specious. The US would never dare make that offer for fear it might be accepted, and the whole PNAC transformation myth discredited (which is already underway but that's another story).

This is not personal and it's not an attack. If you disagree, I won't take it personally. But for the sake of legitimate moderate debate, pushing imaginary hypothetical negatives doesn't hold water.

Until the US makes a legitimate effort to include the international community in Iraqi stabilization and reconstruction - not just an invite to jump on the US bandwagon - you can't judge anyone's reaction. The only fact in evidence is the US failure to make the offer.
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2026 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News