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Old 05-28-2004, 06:49 PM   #29 (permalink)
cthulu23
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mojo_PeiPei
The Wolfowitz doctrine is a brilliant piece of foreign policy, which yes he has been advocating for a very long time. It would've been better if the UN took care of this mess a long time ago, but they didn't. I could care less about about some of the shaky allegations, a lot of other ones hold up. Besides Saddam was a brutal murderous asshat, he had it coming.

Always remember, all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.

To the point of the post though is that it all comes down to Bush. You think the anti-American left would learn to never cut your nose to spite your face.
I believe that we are currently seeing the Wolfowitz doctrine in action and, in my opinion, it's brilliance has yet to be confirmed.

I brought up the Wolfowitz doctrine to illustrate how the administration's claims of humanitarianist motives in Iraq are just a smoke screen for a deeper strategic motive, albeit a fundamentally flawed one. Not to mention that the administration's first excuse for invasion was the "threat" of Iraq, not concern for the welfare of the Iraqi people. Couple this with Bush's history of dismissing Clinton's "nation-building" humanitarian missions in Kosovo , Somalia and Haiti, as well as his party's legacy of actively supporting some of the worst butchers on the planet (the Democrats do this, too) and it becomes hard to disregard the disingenuosness. I am continuously astounded by how many Americans seem to easily dismiss this chameleon-like shifting of motives . Personally, I consider starting a war under false pretenses as one of the most disgraceful actions that a leader can visit upon his nation.

One tangential point: when did the anti-war left become the "anti-American" left? America is a nation founded on protest and is big enough for a multiplicity of opinions. Vigorous debate is a cornerstone of any democracy. Accusing the opposition of a lack of patriotism implies a misunderstanding of just what America is supposed to be about. If I'm concerned with the present direction of a country's progress, isn't it my patriotic duty to right the course? Not everyone feels that destroying a country's infrastructure, divvying up it's natural resources to a select few and building airbases there is the most effective way of helping it's people (or engendering good will in the Middle East).

I find the allegations of acquiescence in the face of evil a little insulting. I've been involved with many campaigns against repressive governments, such as Burma, Indonesia and, yes, Iraq during the sanction years, and the support for these efforts by Republicans was always minimal. In fact, most human rights organizations and campaigns seem to be labeled as leftist, bleeding-heart whining by many right-wing pundits. I know that not all conservatives feel this way, but you cannot deny that this sentiment exists in mainstream American conservative thought. When you question someones patriotism, you shouldn't crudely co-opt a piece of their ideology.

Edit: corrected grammar error

Last edited by cthulu23; 05-28-2004 at 10:44 PM..
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