WP: Inaction Could Undercut Bush's Long-Term Goals

[kskiska]

Monday, July 31, 2006; A01

The Israeli bombs that slammed into the Lebanese village of Qana yesterday did more than kill three dozen children and a score of adults. They struck at the core of U.S. foreign policy in the region and illustrated in heart-breaking images the enormous risks for Washington in the current Middle East crisis.

With each new scene of carnage in southern Lebanon, outrage in the Arab world and Europe has intensified against Israel and its prime sponsor, raising the prospect of a backlash resulting in a new Middle East quagmire for the United States, according to regional specialists, diplomats and former U.S. officials.

Although the United States has urged Israel to use restraint, it has also strongly defended the military assaults as a reasonable response to Hezbollah rocket attacks, a position increasingly at odds with allies that see a deadly overreaction. Analysts think that if the war drags on, as appears likely, it could leave the United States more isolated than at any time since the Iraq invasion three years ago and hindered in its foreign policy goals such as shutting down Iran's nuclear program and spreading democracy around the world.

"The arrows are all pointing in the wrong direction," said Richard N. Haass, who was President Bush's first-term State Department policy planning director. "The biggest danger in the short run is it just increases frustration and alienation from the United States in the Arab world. Not just the Arab world, but in Europe and around the world. People will get a daily drumbeat of suffering in Lebanon and this will just drive up anti-Americanism to new heights."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/30/AR2006073000578.html

[Trajan]

1. As long as money flows into the pockets of Bush supporters ...

Bush's goals are fulfilled - NOTHING else matters to them ...

[Quantess]

10. Absolutely!

[Auntie Bush]

2. No shit!

[leftchick]

3. and chuck schumer and many other DLC/Neo dems agree with bush

it is insanity.

[josh nelson]

13. agreed

Any democrat that supports Bush will pay for it this year. Case in point, Joe Lieberman.

[Amonester]

4. "Who cares what they think!" - The AWOL New Tyranny King. n/t

[superconnected]

5. " did more than kill three dozen children "

That's it. All I can handle today.

There is NO justification for murder.

This patriotism to justify murder is beyond sickening to me. It's like supporting F*ing serial killers. Our army/their army, israels army/ whoevers blech.

3 f*ing dozen kids dead in one day.

[madrchsod]

6. our wonderful democratic party joins in on the blood lust

sometimes i just feel like crying....

[Amonester]

7. "spreading democracy around the world"

Define "democracy" and spread it at home, please...

[superconnected]

8. uh we don't need that spread here.

bush's version of spreading democracy involved carpet bombing iraq every night for 2 years. It was only random peoples homes. Kids killed at random, mass terror that just wouldn't stop.

Some democracy.

[Amonester]

9. What I really meant by "define democracy" was, first:

Throw all Diebold&Co's proprietary secret software machine into properly equiped recycling industries.

Second: Replace them with 'standardized' and properly funded verifiable hand-counting systems.

Third: Abolish ALL no-bid-contracts' and corruption-prone lobbying-lobbyists and replace them with taxes (to the same corporations) to be equally shared by all political parties based on fair rules (already done elsewhere).

Fourth: (and on, and on...)

And don't forget: Impeach, Indict, and Imprison all PNAC's war criminals (make an 'example').


On edit: changed flawed to prone, & added '-lobbyists' + (to the same corporations).

[Solly Mack]

11. In Vietnam, the US had this strategy called "strategic hamlets"

The idea was to take control of several cities around the invaded country, set up a mini-democracy of sorts within those target cities, and make the inhabitants so happy, that it spreads to the next city.

In Iraq this same strategy is call the "Oil Spot Theory" - I kid you not.


Remember the Domino Theory? Well, strategic hamlets and oil spot theory are the same in principle to the Domino Theory on a smaller scale and fitted to an invading force already inside the target country...the oil spot spreads outward,or the strategic hamlet influences nearby cities, transforming the country into a democracy one city at a time from within.....this leads us to the New Domino Theory by Bush

Bush calls it "spreading democracy" or "freedom on the march"....but it's still the Domino theory without the word communism and with democracy in it's stead - that if one country becomes a democracy, then other countries in the region will be influenced by what they see and follow suit - because of cooperation within the region.

Well, that's Bush's Middle East long-term goal

A policy that failed in Vietnam and that is now failing in Iraq. And the soundness of the Domino Theory is heavily debated still

Wheeeeeeee



I've mentioned this before though not in as much detail...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2371081&mesg_id=2371104

[josh nelson]

12. Wait a second...

Bush has long-term goals?