Monday, September 08, 2003
The Iraq “flypaper” argument
Like Jack Strocchi, my earlier support for the war on/in Iraq has waned considerably. In a nutshell, the US just hasn’t got the mass of locals onside, and I can’t see this changing anytime soon.
Judging by his speech on Iraq today, George Bush is floundering around too. While he wasn’t foolish enough to overtly invoke the flypaper argument, he didn’t offer any convincing-sounding alternative(s).
The Islamofascists have also said “phooey”, in their own way, to any attempt at geographically containing terrorism:
Our highest aim is to fight the Americans and kill them everywhere on earth and drive them out of Palestine, the Arabian peninsula and Iraq (emphasis added)
Ooh aah! But at least you’re not going to kill the Americans DEAD.
And if, perchance, the flypaperists are correct, shouldn’t Bush stop playing this game on its current, little league scale? Going to war against Saudi Arabia – for which, of course, there is ample moral and military justification – would far more dramatically Bring It On.
So what should Bush do? My “Plan B” for the US is simple – withdraw from Iraq, and radically cut US oil consumption. I said “simple”, not easy.
Like Jack Strocchi, my earlier support for the war on/in Iraq has waned considerably. In a nutshell, the US just hasn’t got the mass of locals onside, and I can’t see this changing anytime soon.
Judging by his speech on Iraq today, George Bush is floundering around too. While he wasn’t foolish enough to overtly invoke the flypaper argument, he didn’t offer any convincing-sounding alternative(s).
The Islamofascists have also said “phooey”, in their own way, to any attempt at geographically containing terrorism:
Our highest aim is to fight the Americans and kill them everywhere on earth and drive them out of Palestine, the Arabian peninsula and Iraq (emphasis added)
Ooh aah! But at least you’re not going to kill the Americans DEAD.
And if, perchance, the flypaperists are correct, shouldn’t Bush stop playing this game on its current, little league scale? Going to war against Saudi Arabia – for which, of course, there is ample moral and military justification – would far more dramatically Bring It On.
So what should Bush do? My “Plan B” for the US is simple – withdraw from Iraq, and radically cut US oil consumption. I said “simple”, not easy.
