Orwell Speak
Secretary Of State Rice, at a meeting of nations who have largely demurred from our Iraq adventure, chided the other nations saying the people of Iraq deserve a chance to gain the freedom they seek. Sometimes the requirements of diplomatic nicety must by excruciating. What might those from the other countries have responded had they not felt the restraints of diplomacy?
"Madam Secretary, your nation has done more to destabilize the middle east than all the other nations combined. By leaning solely on your military might, like trying to swat a fly with a nuclear weapon, you have turned what remained of moderate Arabs into militant anti-west Islamists. You refused to listen to the counsel of nations; you insisted on making a case without evidence, and you bullied your way into a morass you are now asking us to bail you out of."
Smarter and clearer heads than mine, such as Thomas Friedman, still believe there is a chance to salvage something worth while from our failed war. I hope they are right. But even the long shot he hopes for depends on the Bush people listening to new voices and becoming willing to consider their errors and take a new course.
Is there anything in the tenure of this administration that makes one think that is likely?
The lone hope I have is that Bush, now a lame duck with no clear heir, hasn't the scary countenance that has caused his own, and a significant part of the opposing party, to knuckle under to his bullying.
We are at a crossing point in testing the ability of democracy in this country to turn us aside from disaster.
"Madam Secretary, your nation has done more to destabilize the middle east than all the other nations combined. By leaning solely on your military might, like trying to swat a fly with a nuclear weapon, you have turned what remained of moderate Arabs into militant anti-west Islamists. You refused to listen to the counsel of nations; you insisted on making a case without evidence, and you bullied your way into a morass you are now asking us to bail you out of."
Smarter and clearer heads than mine, such as Thomas Friedman, still believe there is a chance to salvage something worth while from our failed war. I hope they are right. But even the long shot he hopes for depends on the Bush people listening to new voices and becoming willing to consider their errors and take a new course.
Is there anything in the tenure of this administration that makes one think that is likely?
The lone hope I have is that Bush, now a lame duck with no clear heir, hasn't the scary countenance that has caused his own, and a significant part of the opposing party, to knuckle under to his bullying.
We are at a crossing point in testing the ability of democracy in this country to turn us aside from disaster.
posted by Blayney at 12:30 PM
1 Comments:
Today, on NPR, I heard with my own ears Donald Rumsfeld say that the Iraquis should not expect us to stay there if they do not get their government and police up to snuff. As if these things are the problems of the Iraquis rather than the problems that we have foisted upon them. I personally don't believe that we should pull out anytime soon. We messed up their country and their citizens' personal safety, and I say that we be required to clean up the mess we have made. It's apalling to me that we can have created an atmosphere of insurgent violence in Iraq and then threaten to pull out if the Iraquis do not get their act together. We are responsible for everything going on there now, and we need to stand up and take account for our actions, no matter how many years it takes.
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