Originally Posted by abscondo

Well, duh.

However, it would smarter for us in the long run if we convinced a chunk of the world -- or at least our allies -- that a particular course of action was both necessary and the best way to do it.

We chose to act pretty much unilaterally in Iraq (please spare us the "coalition" argument, because this one was primarily composed of tiny countries). We ignored the countries that tried to dissuade us. And now we're demanding that they help us.

Ignoring the advice of your friends and customers and then demanding their help just isn't smart.