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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: Bilow who wrote (128595)	4/7/2004 12:48:58 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) of 281500

I'm not asking for a limit on the number of casualties in the whole war, I'm asking for the number in the campaign to pacify Iraq. It will take what is required. But obviously we're going to have to be attentive to the feelings of the majority of Iraqis. When it becomes evident that the large majority, not just a violence and intolerant minority, engage in a violent uprising against both the CPA and IGC, because they feel their lives are not getting better, then we'll have to reassess our mission goals. We can't change a society bent upon self-destruction and civil war. It may require that we play a little "brinksmanship" and threaten to leave them to their own fate if we don't obtain cooperation. It might take such an action at some point in the future to sober up not only the average Iraqi, but also the rest of the world that seems so reluctant to identify with the vision is proposing for the region. Namely democracy and economic integration and prosperity with the rest of the world (not just selling us oil). If the Bushies had known how bloody your version of the campaign in Iraq would be, they wouldn't have gone in. I'm not so sure about that... But one would hope they would have rethought their post-war planning to better emphasize rapid rebuilding of the infrastructure, having sufficient funds voted for and on hand to rebuild the country immediately (and not having to wait a year), as well as preserving the Iraqi army and detaining and vetting the Republican Guard rather than merely letting them go home. There is no doubt that mistakes have been made in retrospect. But that doesn't mean the mission wasn't right and necessary to confront the sources of Islamic terrorism, as well as their socio-economic sources of their recruits. But I sure as hell am unwilling to believe John Kerry has a better plan, outside of surrendering our foreign policy to the French and the UN. And btw, even Kerry admits we have to win in Iraq. So maybe you should ask him what his "threshold of pain" is vis-a-vis Iraq. Hawk

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