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Wax_off · 04-27-2004, 09:34 AM

But back to the original topic, remember that the plan as laid out by the Bush administration was "we will go in, remove Saddam and the Iraqi people will greet us with open arms while we rebuild the country." The second part of that hasn't happened and seems to be getting farther and farther from happening. It seems to me that what has gone wrong in Iraq is that we failed to plan for anything not working out in the most rosy way. All the attention was focused on the first part and none on what we would do afterwards. There was no exit stratergy (sic).

Now we're in this kind of sticky situation there. We can't leave, but more and more we're not welcome there. What to do? Perhaps it was a mistake to remove Saddam in the first place. I've traveled in third world countries a bit and something I've observed is that 'freedom' is not held in as high regard as it is here. Brutality, murder and political repression seem to be part of normal life. Example: In Guatemala, General Rios Mont was narrowly defeated in the last general election. He was the head of the millitary coup that started the Guatemalan civil war and killed hundreds of thousands of people. But the people respect his strength, not his dedication to 'freedom'.
So how does the US deal with that mind set? We're in a region where people respect strength and see freedom as a power void that needs to be filled. Yes, that should change, but it's not going to change in one day or one year. Probably not even in one decade. Effectivly what we've done is replace one brutal dictator with another, us. And when we leave (if we ever leave) we will be relaced with yet another brutal regime.

So to sum up this rambling post for which I'm sure I will be roundly attacked, it seems like what has gone wrong in Iraq is a failure to understand the situation through the eyes of anyone other than ourselves. Rules that apply here do not apply in other parts of the world. The way we see things is not the only way, not even the best way, just what works for us, and we shouldn't expect it to work for everyone else. We're trying to shove democracy down the throats of the Iraqis and there is no doubt in my mind that it will not work.

'Nuff said.

04-27-2004, 09:34 AM	#39 (permalink)
Wax_off No Avatar, No Sig.	But back to the original topic, remember that the plan as laid out by the Bush administration was "we will go in, remove Saddam and the Iraqi people will greet us with open arms while we rebuild the country." The second part of that hasn't happened and seems to be getting farther and farther from happening. It seems to me that what has gone wrong in Iraq is that we failed to plan for anything not working out in the most rosy way. All the attention was focused on the first part and none on what we would do afterwards. There was no exit stratergy (sic). Now we're in this kind of sticky situation there. We can't leave, but more and more we're not welcome there. What to do? Perhaps it was a mistake to remove Saddam in the first place. I've traveled in third world countries a bit and something I've observed is that 'freedom' is not held in as high regard as it is here. Brutality, murder and political repression seem to be part of normal life. Example: In Guatemala, General Rios Mont was narrowly defeated in the last general election. He was the head of the millitary coup that started the Guatemalan civil war and killed hundreds of thousands of people. But the people respect his strength, not his dedication to 'freedom'. So how does the US deal with that mind set? We're in a region where people respect strength and see freedom as a power void that needs to be filled. Yes, that should change, but it's not going to change in one day or one year. Probably not even in one decade. Effectivly what we've done is replace one brutal dictator with another, us. And when we leave (if we ever leave) we will be relaced with yet another brutal regime. So to sum up this rambling post for which I'm sure I will be roundly attacked, it seems like what has gone wrong in Iraq is a failure to understand the situation through the eyes of anyone other than ourselves. Rules that apply here do not apply in other parts of the world. The way we see things is not the only way, not even the best way, just what works for us, and we shouldn't expect it to work for everyone else. We're trying to shove democracy down the throats of the Iraqis and there is no doubt in my mind that it will not work. 'Nuff said.