Reply #52: A good deal depends on one's point of view. [View All]

[bemildred]

One may judge, say, the Iraq fandango with various questions:
a.) Is it going according to plan (more or less)? No.
b.) Is it likely to achieve its local political goals? No.
(Maybe a partial yes if you think removing Saddam was of other
than public relations value.)
c.) It is having the desired geo-political effect? Rather the
opposite, actually.

If one applies this sort of interrogation to the record of the US
government since WWII, one sees what a bunch or provincial twits
they are. The sort of economic, military, and political power
we had post-WWII, not the mention the credibility, should have
been good for a lot more than a 60 year binge. The wastage has
been absolutely horrendous, and you now have soi disant
geniuses like Kissinger that stand deer-in-the-headlights
before the onrushing train of history.

All this is not to deny that a lot of damage has been done and
that a great opportunity has been lost. But the US populace is
more likely to remove these people if they see the threat to
themselves then because of the effect of their policies on people
elsewhere in the World. We are still a very provincial and self-
centered country.

It is interesting to consider Mr. Sharon in the light of those
three questions.