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Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
I have no problem with people saying that it may have been a mistake to go into Iraq and I have no problem with people saying that things aren't going well there. I have no problem with your post which talks about possible options for us in Iraq. These are good discussions to have.
The thing I don't like is when you or other people try to make it all about Bush and villify Bush. He's not a bad guy. His intentions are good. Even if you think he's made some really bad decisions, you don't need to villify him.
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I have thought about proper response to the accusation of "villifying" Bush.
1) He is NOT a good guy that has made bad decisions. His intent has been clear, whether it was selling the Iraq War II as WMD's (no existent), regime change (that worked out fine), establishing a "stable democracy" in the Mid East (even top Pentagon Generals now concede that Iraq is in a state of civil war). Afghanistan currently has resurgent Taliban presence and a bumper opium crop. Bush's decisions have had a detrimental effect on the United States and the stability of the nations that share the planet.
2) I had no part in the decision making, other than voting in the last election.
3) I have tried to present the "best possible options" regarding current circumstances. Peter Galbraith (former ambassador to Bosnia), recently published a book entitled "The End of the Iraq War". I suggest it. He also sees not what coulda, shoulda, or woulda been...but what IS.
4) It seems to me that there WERE some that remained silent while living in 1936 Germany, whether they were intimidated by fear of reprisal from the government, or fear of insults and ridicule from their fellow Germans as they might have appeared to be "unpatriotic". We know what their silence enabled.
The same strategy was used against those that opposed the Viet Nam War by the Nixon/Agnew administration. Their tactic didn't work then, and it certainly won't work now.
5) I have not heard a meaningful solution to disengage US involvement in Iraq from those that believed it was worthwhile. If it is believed that this WAS worthwhile, please explain. If not, please present a strategy for disengagement. Maintaining the status quo is no longer an option.
"Those that refuse to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them."
DTS