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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (15167)	11/4/2003 7:03:55 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793618

IMO, the seeming "swagger" was for consumption of those who think in terms of "power"....i.e. Saddam Hussein and his henchmen. Yeah, I understand why he might want to take on that posture with that audience. Problem is that all this is conducted in public and different audiences see it differently. Was the effect a net plus or a net minus? We can use our military strength to make a point to the ME. Topping it off with a swagger is redundant re the ME audience and it just ticks off others. If it was a conscious strategy, I don't think it was a smart one. There's also the fact the the unilateralism and swagger proceeded 9/11. Maybe the early swagger was the residual effect of winning the WH. I've been up close and personal with enough transition teams to recognize it when I see it.