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Originally Posted by MrTia
well, of course, the vaunted clarity of the bush administration is kinda false -- they indulge in a lot of simplistic rhetoric about good vs. evil but the iraq adventure is such an abject failure for that exact reason: the putative "clarity" of the vision that went behind it. they invaded, at least ostensibly, because they were the forces of "good" arrayed against the forces of "evil" embodied in the Baath party, and the idea was that once the evil was eliminated the "good" in the iraqi people was going to rise up and they were going to become like the old frontier american settlers. this over-simplified worldview completely ignored the fact that iraq actually has an exceedingly complicated indigenous culture that can't be simply erased in preference for the kind of culture the american occupation is trying to instill there.
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Cowboy diplomacy may be simplistic, but it is clear.
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which is to say that bush would have served his nation much better if his worldview were LESS clear, if he and his policymakers were more able to comprehend shades of gray, subtly and ambiguity in their decisionmaking. as it was, they pretty much had a Plan A and when that didn't work, they didn't have a Plan B due to the "clarity" of their "vision" -- so all they're left with now is piling on more and more Plan A until the situation improves, which is plainly never gonna happen.
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In some situations (I don't agree concerning Iraq) you are correct and that Cowboy Diplomacy's overly simplistic view of things may not always serve us well. I stated a few times that Bush became fixated on the Iraq issue like a pit bull can get fixated on an object. He needed something (Congress) to snap him out of it, if invading Iraq and occupying the country was and is the wrong thing. Instead Congress gave Bush everything he asked for, complaining all along the way. Bush was predictable and Congress failed - if you think the war was and is wrong. It is pretty simple. Now, if they want a change of course - it is the same - they need to take a stand against Bush. But they won't for some reason. I think the reason is that they lack convictions.
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if the demos try to emulate the republican "clarity of vision" thing, the plight of the country won't improve much even if they're elected. if the american people demand "clarity of vision" of this kind, we'll get the leadership we deserve. we're coming up on difficult and complicated times, and we need leaders capable of nuanced understanding, not leaders who are certain of their own straightforward convictions, regardless of evidence to the contrary.
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Personally, that is why I have my wife. She is my check and balance. If she were as weak as Congress we would have gotten into all kinds of things that she saved me from with her understanding of "nuances". So in a weird way I agree. Now only if Congress had more will, to stand up against Bush.