Reading the foreign press (mostly from Canada and the UK, but also a bit of Europe) as the Bush has Powell begging at the UN one gets the feeling that it will be very difficult to get an agreement. MP Michael Meacher's view published in the Guardian is typical. You get the sense the people in the UK are pushing to cut their involvement in Iraq rather than increase it, as Mr Blair (or B-Liar as many refer to him these days) wants.
One wonders how the neocons in the White House will pull out of this one. They've screwed the budget, critical infrastructure isn't fixing itself, their war on trumped up charges is now dangerous and now is linked with terror and it isn't clear if they will or can grovel enough to get Europe to cough up a few hundred billion dollars over the next few years and those all important body bags.
Joe Conason puts it nicely in his Salon note yesterday ...
...The problem facing the neocons, of course, is that their plans have gone terribly wrong. No doubt the troops and their commanders are doing the best they can under very bad circumstances, and achieving some successes amid all the chaos. Unfortunately, there isn't much that our soldiers can do to remedy the inherent dishonesty, arrogance and incompetence of the Bush administration's Iraq policy.
The neocons in the Pentagon and the White House invented an "imminent" threat from Saddam Hussein that didn't exist. They precipitated war at the risk of alienating our traditional allies and ruining our credibility at the United Nations. They invaded with insufficient force and planning. And now, when the costs of those policies are coming due, they have no plausible answers. When I challenged Gaffney to pose an alternative to U.N. intervention in Iraq, he didn't respond....
If this continues to deteriorate will less radial Republicans begin to distance themselves from the White House? My guess is that few mainstream Republicans share the neoconservative philosophy and agenda. They were swept up, as were many Democrats, in the whirlwind of popularity and blind trust that attached itself to Bush as the country was looking for direction - any direction - after 9/11. Now the Republicans have to deal with some unpopular choices as deficits have ballooned past anything that even Reagan and Bush 1 could conjure. The public realization that something might be broken isn't here -- yet.
Some retired military types are now saying that something north of a quarter million troops are needed in Iraq - double that if civil war breaks out. If the UN doesn't come to our aid things might get very bad. Bringing back a military draft would probably be necessary - one would hazard a guess that doing so wouldn't be popular.
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Sukie offers commentary on the subject:
In my memories of what changed the opinions of neighborhood hawks during the Vietnam War two things stand out:1. The press began to portray a little of the ugly side.2. The hawks began to hear the words of returning vets who stopped parroting only the Administration line, instead telling what they had actually experienced and seen, which differed greatly from the Administration claims.
People LIKE to believe those into whose hands they have entrusted their future so it was exceedingly difficult for the words of those sufferers to be heard. As a third party my impression was that they were first greeted with all of the willingness displayed when yellow jackets buzz a picnic: waved away, run from, stomped.
People usually do eventually trust those who are emotionally and physically close to them more than those whom they adore from afar, though, and that is especially true when other events and other lies undermine trust, especially lies which impact on their own day to day lives.
I think that we are seeing a speeded-up echo today.
With all of the same business acumen which destroyed each of his business ventures GWB has presided over a nation which had a low unemployment and diminishing debt on his ascension, and managed to turn it around. Oh, wait; we didn't want those turned around...
Everyone is still reeling from the swivel, except maybe those who had enough wealth that they received large enough tax breaks to afford 360' airbags. Once everyday folks get their bearings again, though, they aren't going to be happy about knowing so many people who are out of work, or being themselves out of work and budgeting tightly. Then they will more readily hear the stories of soldiers and veterans of the war in Iraq and of their families.
Do you remember how rapidly the core of America shifted gears in relation to Vietnam and to Nixon? Be ready for a swivel to be returned to the Administration.
nicely put. if things keep going downhill for the shrub it will be interesting for the party. will local and state members cut their ties or will they burn together? will the bungling democrats find leadership? will bush and ashcroft declare martial law after the next incident and take away that pesky voting thing?
Posted by: sally | September 07, 2003 at 15:23