The problem with one-sided movies of historical events, such as JFK and Charlie Wilson’s War, is that they permanently emblazon in the public’s mind simple ideas about complex events that may be in dispute among historians.
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The Bush administration has continually exacerbated the threat of radical Islamism by refusing to see that U.S. meddling in Islamic nations is fueling the problem. [...] An incomplete and unratified partition on the ground in Iraq is a dangerous situation. [...] Most of the U.S. public does not seem to notice that its government’s actions have exacerbated or even created foreign threats, which that same government then says it needs more resources in order to counter. [...] Those of us who opposed the expansion of NATO in 1999 and 2004 warned that it would lead to problems with Russia. [...] A full blown Iraqi civil war that drags in neighboring states would be bad for Iraqis, but it would have only minimal effects on U.S. security. [...] Only by minimizing the permanent U.S. military presence in Arab and Islamic lands can we hope to stem anti-U.S. terrorism. [...] According to NBC News, since April 2003, when the initial U.S. military action was over, the United States has taken in a scant 535 Iraqi refugees. [...] Merely suggesting the long-term establishment of U.S. military bases in a historically significant Muslim country will confirm to the Islamist radicals that the U.S. desire for a continued land-based military presence in the oil-rich Persian Gulf was the administration’s real objective in invading Iraq. [...] “Iraqization” will fail for the same reason that “Vietnamization” did — societal cleavages prevent a “national” army from saving a fractured country. [...] It may be too late to save Iraq from a massive bloodbath, but the only hope remaining is to attempt to use a U.S. withdrawal to hammer out an agreement that would decentralize the Iraqi government, allow self-determination among the various groups, and create oil revenue sharing. [...] These twin failures, however tragic and painful, will likely usher in a new period of U.S. military restraint, the policy championed by America’s founders. [...] Somalia is the third example of the United States creating a potentially anti–U.S. Islamist threat where none previously existed. [...] Broadening the sanctions changes their main purpose from being instrumental to being merely punitive. [...] According to Ohio State political scientist John Mueller, the lifetime probability that international terrorists will kill any one American is a miniscule one in 80,000 — about the same as the same person being killed by a comet. [...] Things are getting bad when an autocracy chastises a republic for its human rights abuses and the criticism has merit. [...] Leaving large, vulnerable troop concentrations in Iraq’s outlying areas, along its borders, or in neighboring countries is a recipe for getting sucked back into any conflict in the region. [...] The U.S. government has lost sight of its original mission in Afghanistan: to neutralize the top leadership of al Qaeda. [...] The politicians are blaming everyone but themselves for this monumental policy failure. [...] Of all countries during the post-World War II period, including the authoritarian Soviet Union, the United States has been, by far, the most aggressive nation on the planet with its military. [...] By 2008, the failed Iraq policy will make the hawkish John McCain radioactive as a candidate for president. [...] This holiday travel season, Santa Claus is not the only one who is checking to see whether you’ve been naughty or nice. [...] Sanctions usually can achieve only modest goals — usually symbolic — but this is of great use to politicians. [...] To give Iraqis the best chance of ending the violence and recovering from the war, a U.S. timetable for withdrawal should be combined with a formal partition of the country. [...] Partition is the only remaining hope for a U.S. withdrawal with any honor and the best chance for achieving peace and prosperity in Iraq. [...] |
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