I grant you that the forces stationed in Iraq would not, if withdrawn, be immediately set to chasing after Al Qaida. I'm thinking more in terms of money, time and energy expended -- tens of billions of dollars, millions of intel man-hours, months and months where Al Qaida was on the back burner because Iraq was on the front burner. I also don't agree that the terrorists and their supporters see things as tactically as you would paint them; it is not whether the US is strong or weak, but whether it's right or wrong. There is a tactical battle, certainly, but there is also a battle for, to use an overworked phrase, hearts and minds. Invading Iraq was bound to be a dead loss in that battle. If being perceived as weak isn't any good, being perceived as an arrogant bully isn't that great either, and it was inevitable that the invasion would increase the ranks of those who see America that way. I'm curious about those terror attacks on the French -- could you cite an example?
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timeasmymeasure
Re: We need to think more than one step ahead
Date: 2004-03-16 12:08 pm (UTC)I also don't agree that the terrorists and their supporters see things as tactically as you would paint them; it is not whether the US is strong or weak, but whether it's right or wrong. There is a tactical battle, certainly, but there is also a battle for, to use an overworked phrase, hearts and minds. Invading Iraq was bound to be a dead loss in that battle. If being perceived as weak isn't any good, being perceived as an arrogant bully isn't that great either, and it was inevitable that the invasion would increase the ranks of those who see America that way.
I'm curious about those terror attacks on the French -- could you cite an example?