Subject:
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Re: A few things...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 27 May 2005 04:20:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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2516 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
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What I’m not seeing the current participants in this debate providing is
anything beyond “we told you so”... I’m against the war too, I was from the
start, but I think it’s important and valid to ask “ok, so what would you do
NOW?” That IS a legitimate question and it IS legitimate to ask it and expect
some answer to evaluate.
No one’s answering. Which makes this debate not all that interesting really,
because it’s a hard and important question. It’s easy to berate past actions
but tougher to actually propose a plan.
No one’s proposing. What we see instead is questions answered with more
questions and positions that can’t be pinned down. Yawn. Answer the hard
questions and I’ll be more impressed.
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Here are a few thoughts--not sure how feasible they are, and some will require
greater diplomacy than is currently available to the administration.
1. Get rid of Bush. His handling of this entire debacle has been
nightmarishly inept and short-sighted. His removal would go a long way toward
demonstrating that we have recognized his many errors and are willing to pursue
a course different from the madness he initiated.
2. Apologize for our
mistakes to date. Should be self-evident, but it hasn’t happened so far.
3. State our mission goals clearly. Why did we start this war? All of the
reasons given to date have been shown to be false, so it looks more and more
like our intent is just to kill as many Muslims as we can. If we have another
objective in mind, we should declare it concretely, and we should articulate a
means by which we may objectively assess our success or failure. An exit
strategy would also be helpful, as would a rough timeframe so that it does not
appear to be a deliberately eternal war.
4. Eliminate all “crusade”
overtones. That means Boykin and his ilk must be formally censured. That
means that everyone who refers to “our God” or “their God” in the context of
this stupid war must be formally censured. It means that any serviceman or
woman who desecrates a Quran must be formally censured. It means that every
public official involved in the conflict must act and speak with courtesy and
consideration of the differences at play here. Our blindness makes our national
egocentrism indistinguishable from deliberate hostility toward other cultures.
5. Act with humility. It’s bad enough that we lied to get into this war.
Dubya’s subsequent arrogance (and that of his subordinates) has made it
impossible to hold the so-called “Coalition” together, and it certainly hasn’t
made us any new friends in the aftermath of the invasion.
6. Remove
corporate profit as an incentive in the theater. In a true Free market this
wouldn’t be a problem, but we’re nowhere near that market, and
government-santioned corporate corruption, waste, and theft are rampant. Since
this was an unprovoked (and, some argue, an illegal war), the subsequent
profiteering only makes the war seem more obviously in the service of corporate
greed. Corporate involvement, if any, should be 100% transparent and 100%
accountable. A for-profit war is nothing but corporate-run mass murder.
7.
Allow broader access to reconstruction contracts. Though France and Germany
opposed our initiation of the war, they shouldn’t be excluded from the bidding
process if they have something to offer. Narrowing the field to only those who
were cajoled into joining our war makes it seem that the war was intended for
(generally American) corporate profit.
8. Secure the assistance of Arab
nations. This requires more diplomacy than we have, I know. Arab nations
have been largely excluded from the shaping and rebuilding of post-war Iraq, and
our continued failure to appreciate the extant cultural differences makes their
exclusion all the more costly and apparent. Additionally, the inclusion of Arab
nations would further demonstrate that this is not a war to put the middle east
under US rule.
9. Hand over the reins. Despite providing the overwhelming
majority of military forces, we are clearly unable to manage the disaster we
have wrought. If we truly are part of a Coalition rather than an Empire (with a
few lackey nations), we should be willing to submit to the authority of another
power. No other nation would command US forces, but the US would not be in
charge of the whole quagmire.
10. Let them choose the government that they
want. Dubya and co. endlessly prattle that “Freedom is on the March” and
“We’re sowing the seeds of Democracy.” That’s all crappy sloganeering. If we
really respect the freedom that we pretend to have given these people, we should
support no candidate, we should offer no rules of our own, and we should clearly
not object if the resultant government is entirely contrary to our wishes.
Otherwise we are clearly showing our disdain for freedom and for another
nation’s sovereignty.
Ten. That’s all for now--it’s late, and I have to work tomorrow.
Dave!
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: A few things...
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| (...) Whoops! 11. Do something about Israel. No, Israel's not 100% wrong in all things, and yes, Palestinians are not without blood on their hands, either. But if we had to pick one thing (other than cultural imperialism (as opposed to militaristic (...) (19 years ago, 27-May-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
| | | Re: A few things...
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| (...) Wow, that's almost unreadable in a newsreader... Not sure how this looked in the original submission, or how it looks in the web view, but people might want to pay attention to their postings formatting... Frank (19 years ago, 27-May-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: A few things...
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| Snipped bunches. Some I agree with (the venality of leaders everywhere, but certainly in the US) and some I don't (it's not just "about the oil!")... focusing on one bit. (...) What I'm not seeing the current participants in this debate providing is (...) (19 years ago, 27-May-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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