Iraq and the pony problem | Needlenose
Swopa makes a hugely important point @Needlenose:
I think it is fair to say that this is at the crux of damn near every debate we are having (or need to have but aren't) in this country. A substantial percentage of our population operates as if believing something is true makes it so. Thus religion, and fiscal policy, and Iraq, and on and on. So long as there a such fools, there will be cynical fuckwad politicians who prey on them. And so long as these two species exist in large numbers, realists will be shouted down or even hunted down.
Iraq is an unmitigted disaster, and will be so for decades. The world has been fundamentally destabilized in ways that will play out to our detriment, not just for years, but for generations. Yet more than a third of Americans continue to ask Daddy to tell them another bedtime story about good and evil and God and truth and such.
If any good eventually comes of this, it will be the eclipse of blind faith as a world view.
The simple fact is, Iraq is screwed, and the only plausible goal of U.S. policy at this point is to find a way to keep a humiliating and tragic outcome from becoming a catastrophic one (that is, catastrophic even for people outside Iraq). Politically, though, it's hard to explain to the American public that hauling away manure is the only option left when the Shrub-in-Chief keeps promising there's still a pony in there somewhere.
In other words, the policy problem of how to fix Iraq is being made even more unsolvable by the political problem of arguing against a fantasy. So aspirants like Gen. Clark and John Kerry are left looking ridiculous as they try to split the difference between illusion and reality -- ripping Dubya for having promised a pony, but nevertheless suggesting there might be a puppy, or hamster, or something if we adopt their plan.
The first order of business, then, isn't to come up with the perfect proposal for what the U.S. should do in Iraq. It's to change the conversation so that Americans are willing to listen to realistic proposals.
I think it is fair to say that this is at the crux of damn near every debate we are having (or need to have but aren't) in this country. A substantial percentage of our population operates as if believing something is true makes it so. Thus religion, and fiscal policy, and Iraq, and on and on. So long as there a such fools, there will be cynical fuckwad politicians who prey on them. And so long as these two species exist in large numbers, realists will be shouted down or even hunted down.
Iraq is an unmitigted disaster, and will be so for decades. The world has been fundamentally destabilized in ways that will play out to our detriment, not just for years, but for generations. Yet more than a third of Americans continue to ask Daddy to tell them another bedtime story about good and evil and God and truth and such.
If any good eventually comes of this, it will be the eclipse of blind faith as a world view.
posted by bluememe at 12/06/2005
1 Comments:
Would a mitigated disaster be OK?
Any thoughts on this idea...
American's training Iraqi's to become soldiers hasn't worked. Why not change our approach and Train the trainers instead. Let's create some R. Lee Ermey type Iraqi Drill Sergeants.
Then Iraq could have a military draft that draws eqaully from all of the warring factions, Sunni, Shia, and Kurds alike. Run them all through boot camp together to break them all down mentally and physically and then build them back up again as Marines. It works here with people from different races, religious backgrounds, and geographic areas.
This approach would also reduce unemployment. And they could do a lot of the things that soldiers used to do that are now being done by overpaid contractors.
I have to think that "insurgents" would be less likely to attack Iraqis who are drafted to protect Iraq. As things stand now, anyone joining the military is viewed as collaborating with the occupiers.
We can give them all of that body armor that is being recalled. And the yet to be up armored Humvees. Probably cheaper than shipping them home anyway. And buy them some decent uniforms to they look like soldiers and not mall security. And then let them patrol the streets and provide security for elections and such.
What do you think? Would it work? Could it be any worse than what we've seen so far?
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