Does the fact that our attack resulted in the introduction of Al Qaeda to Iraq make us wiser from now on?

Question

The more we interfere elsewhere the more we invite retaliation

Answer 1

Of course it doesn't. The US didn't learn from its mistakes in Vietnam and it won't learn from the mistakes made in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Answer 2

What's the lesson to be learned? "Never engage in military operations in or near the middle east because the blind hatred of some toward the US will lead them to take up extremist stances and attack soldiers and other Muslims?"

A truly hands off approach? Perhaps there are some potential problems with adopting that as a policy as well.

Answer 3

Your statement is not a "fact" and has no merit. Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden had one overwhelming common interest. They both hate Jews, and because they hate Jews they both hate America, where they are accepted. Others in the middle east hate America for the same reason. What you have is a new "Axis of Evil" and the possibility of World War 3. You may recall that WWII was started by a prior Axis of Evil, and by a madman who hated Jews.

Answer 4

Not everybody as you likely know.

When you write 'US' do you mean U.S.? Absolutely not when its considered that the term 'U.S.' in 2006 really means only 4 Hi Disciples of NeoConism : George W.Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld & Condleeza Rice. The rest of the country of 289,000,000 American persons and their opinions don't matter and don't count.

Answer 5

Not the neoconservatives, for they should more accurately be called imperialists and absolutists. They are determined to exert power and control over that part of the world that produces OIL. Some of them argue that this is necessary to defend the USA in the future; others talk about "freedom" and "democracy," but they really support and envy the dictatorship of the Saudis and are primarily concerned with the ability of the economic elite to produce more and more wealth and power for themselves.

They need war of some kind from which to profit on their contracts--contracts which they have been awarded without competition, which do not produce results promised, and which overspend and avoid responsible auditing.

Either they do not understand how the US invasion and occupation of Middle Eastern territory is seen in the region--or they simply don't care. They seek to retain power within the US by feeding our fear with talk about the War on Terror and the imminent danger form Islamic terrorists. But what they hide from the public is that their invasion and occupation have simply enabled terrorists to recruit more and more from among the young, the poor, the powerless, and, yes, the idealists to their cause of Islamic jihadism.

I began my political life as an Eisenhower conservative. One of the great political addresses of the 20th century was the one he gave in 1961 three days before he stepped down as President.

Let me quote two brief passages from that speech to illustrate how far removed his conservatism is from the ideology of the present-day "neoconservative" imperialists:

Excerpt #1: "Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad."

Excerpt #2: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

I believe that having school children memorize those words in the 21st century might be even more important than the Gettysburg Address. Oh, yes. "Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Our only hope for the future as a nation is that we will somehow recover that "alert and knowledgeable citizenry."

One of the main tasks of the administration of George II has been to undermine precisely that "alert and knowledgeable citizenry"; specifically, (1) to maneuver the so-called MSM (mainstream media); (2) to manipulate the socially conservative public by fostering and feeding their fear and hatred of abortionists, homosexuals, and Mexican immigrants; and (3) to deceive all of us (including Congress) about their secret incursions into our long-loved freedoms and privacies, the much-respected checks and balances among the three branches of government, and the long-established and basic separation of church and state.

For these neoconservatives are not simply imperialists abroad; they long to become absolutists at home, asserting the power of a de facto dictatorship, undermining the progressive reforms of the 20th century--reforms initiated by Republican Teddy Roosevelt, Populist William Jennings Bryan, and Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. Without these reforms in place (and constantly being refined, of course), Eisenhower's warning will come true: that we wil have become "a dreadful community of fear and hate" instead of "a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect."

Until we understand the need for genuine diplomacy abroad and genuine (Eisenhower) conservatism at home, our nation as a whole will not achieve wisdom even from the painful but clear lessons we should be learning in Baghdad now.

Answer 6

No, some people never learn from their mistakes.

Answer 7

If we bring the fight to other countries ours remains undamaged. the more we kill now the less we will have to kill later

Answer 8

not true, get your facts right.

Answer 9

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY ~!@#$(*&)_+!~!!!!!!!!