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 : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: cnyndwllr who wrote (133143)5/15/2004 9:58:01 PM
From: Hawkmoon  Read Replies (2) of 281500
 
Well I'd say that was a very low level threshold view of "success."

Sure.. it's not the total success.. But hey, we have to let the Iraqis make the hard decisions for themselves so that they recognize that any repercussions that result are their own fault, not ours..

That's probably one of our greatest mistakes from the Vietnam era.. We told the Vietnamese that we'd take care of them and hold off the VC and NVA, while took that the "breathing space" to build their economy and political systems.

But they grew complacent about the US presence and it wasn't until 1968 and Vietnamization that we really saw the South Vietnamese government TRULY get serious about defending themselves..

And by that time, it was too late.

Putting this choice to the Iraqis is a clear signal that they can't always depend upon the US being there. And that we'll only be there so long as the majority want us to be there.

I don't think you'll get too far comparing post WW11 German society and culture with current day Iraqi culture and society so why go there?

Actually, I think I can go there... Because, of all the Arab countries in the region, Iraq was the most secular, and one of the more modern with regard to women's rights..

Of course, that secular government was a totalitarian dictatorship by an elite political party, but it spent 30 years helping in altering the perception of the benefits of an Islamic theocratic state.

Kind of like how Bismark's unification of the numerous German principalities prepared Germany for being a nation.

Hawk
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News