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Originally Posted by UtahDan
1. It may well be that in the final analysis the Iraq war was a good faith mistake.
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I held back then that invading Iraq might be a good idea, but the pretense of WMDs was/is utterly false and the Neo-con hawks knew it. The CIA released publically prior to the invasion information stating that there was no evidence that Iraq presented an immediate threat. But then it was important to fight *someone*, so they were told to find some evidence. I might be missing your point, but how is that "good faith"?
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we have to do everything we can to try to get a democratic government to take hold no matter how bad our buyers remorse is.
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I don't understand the fascination with "democratic governments". Democracy isn't the answer. Democracy in Iraq seems destined to result in bloodshed, unstable governments, regional meddling by the likes of Iran and Syria, etc. A "shadow democracy" like the one they got going in Pak might be a good way to go, but a western-style democracy is just asking for it. What *needs* to be established is a reasonably liberal (note, this is meant in the true sense of the word "liberal", not the co-opted one) capitalist state with minimal corruption. (Yes, the kind like ther are only 5 of on earth anyway...)
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My long term fear is that is Iraq ultimately is viewed as a misadventure that it will cause the election of leaders who will withdraw us from a proactive role in the world. We cannot afford this.
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I'm with you here. The policy of interventionalism wasn't the problem with Iraq, IMHO. The problem was doing it "the cowboy way" -- giving all our traditional allies the middle finger and then acting surprised that they didn't like it. Euros are all irresponsible pansies who would prefer Africa (and the rest of the undeveloped world) burn in hell than risk a single drop of that sweet, pure, white Euroblood. That said, it's dumb for us to be the world's rent-a-cops and then seek jobs where (virtually) no one else is footing even part of the bill. A more charismatic, less "my way or the highway" leadership persona might have gone a long way in ensuring a more optimal financial structure behind this particular adventure.
o