Friday, November 05, 2004
WHAT'S YOUR METRIC FOR FAILURE?
It appears to be an article of faith in many circles that the invasion of Iraq has been a "failure" (just do a Google search of Iraq + failure and you'll see what I mean). If I were in charge, I don't think I would have pushed so aggressively to invade Iraq. But now that the invasion has taken place, I have often wondered what people mean when they declare the invasion to have failed. What, to borrow a Rumsfeldism, is the metric one uses in differentiating between success and failure of a military operation and/or post-military operation occupation? If Iraq is a failure, what constitutes "success?" What are some historical examples of a success? I'm not sure if I have a clear idea of how I would answer this question. But I'm sure there are those with more intelligence and experience that will be able to help me out here.
Comments:
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Scott from the Party Pooper here.
Why don't you, as a Republican, tell us what has to happen (or not happen) to make the invasion a failure?
It wasn't long ago when every Bush follower I ever talked to was so sure that WMDs were being manufactured in Iraq and we had to go in there and disarm Saddam. That didn't pan out, and frankly, America's reputation took a pretty damn big hit because of it.
So now you've all shifted your talk to liberation and democracy, but that isn't going so smoothly either (though to be honest, despite my dislike of Bush, I really wish it would).
So be honest and tell us: in what circumstances (with a clear time frame) would you begin to doubt the wisdom of the invasion? Politics isn't religion, you know. I'm not asking you to blaspheme against God and Jesus by considering the fact that Bush might have messed up. I don't mean to be insulting, but I'm find it very frustrating that otherwise intelligent people cannot even admit that they COULD be wrong.
As a "liberal," I'll be fair and start: If within the next 4 years Iraq is clearly on its way to becoming a stable democracy (no "friendly dicatorships") and the US has less troops in Iraq and is spending significantly less money on Iraq than it is now, I'll admit I was wrong and Bush did the right thing. I'll be pretty damn happy to do it, actually. I take absolutely zero joy in dead US soldiers and our swelling deficit. I'll post a big picture of Bush on my site and say, that at least in this case, I and others like me were in the wrong and Bush made the right call.
Your turn if you're willing and able...
Why don't you, as a Republican, tell us what has to happen (or not happen) to make the invasion a failure?
It wasn't long ago when every Bush follower I ever talked to was so sure that WMDs were being manufactured in Iraq and we had to go in there and disarm Saddam. That didn't pan out, and frankly, America's reputation took a pretty damn big hit because of it.
So now you've all shifted your talk to liberation and democracy, but that isn't going so smoothly either (though to be honest, despite my dislike of Bush, I really wish it would).
So be honest and tell us: in what circumstances (with a clear time frame) would you begin to doubt the wisdom of the invasion? Politics isn't religion, you know. I'm not asking you to blaspheme against God and Jesus by considering the fact that Bush might have messed up. I don't mean to be insulting, but I'm find it very frustrating that otherwise intelligent people cannot even admit that they COULD be wrong.
As a "liberal," I'll be fair and start: If within the next 4 years Iraq is clearly on its way to becoming a stable democracy (no "friendly dicatorships") and the US has less troops in Iraq and is spending significantly less money on Iraq than it is now, I'll admit I was wrong and Bush did the right thing. I'll be pretty damn happy to do it, actually. I take absolutely zero joy in dead US soldiers and our swelling deficit. I'll post a big picture of Bush on my site and say, that at least in this case, I and others like me were in the wrong and Bush made the right call.
Your turn if you're willing and able...
# posted by 
: 6:36 AM
: 6:36 AM
Why do we wonder what we, people not actually involved in this 'process,' think?
I think better words can be said by the Iraqis themselves...
For example:
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
or
http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/
Sniff around...it's amazing what you can find. Good, and bad.
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I think better words can be said by the Iraqis themselves...
For example:
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
or
http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/
Sniff around...it's amazing what you can find. Good, and bad.
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