tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post112951305955866192..comments2023-12-17T19:35:07.459-08:00Comments on Bouphonia: An Accomplishment Worth SavoringPhilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1129569088664738862005-10-17T10:11:00.000-07:002005-10-17T10:11:00.000-07:00SS,Good point, but I think the differences between...SS,<BR/><BR/>Good point, but I think the differences between Iraq and the Axis go even deeper than that. Germany and Japan were basically homogenous societies with a shared culture; the threat of civil war in either country was minimal. <BR/><BR/>Also, the defeat of both these aggressor nations was total and unconditional, which surely served to limit the likelihood of an anti-US insurgency. Fascism promises total victory; under total defeat, it seems to lose a lot of its hypnotic hold on people.<BR/><BR/>A WWII-style occupation in Iraq wouldn't necessarily have led to stability, in my view...ethnic and religious strife, coupled with our status as invaders, would've caused problems for us regardless. And in additional to the political will, I think we lacked the manpower.Philahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1129565734728372412005-10-17T09:15:00.000-07:002005-10-17T09:15:00.000-07:00How could the strongest power in modern history, g...<I>How could the strongest power in modern history, going to war against a much lesser opponent at a time and place of its own choosing, find itself stuck a few years later, hemorrhaging blood and treasure amid increasing chaos?</I><BR/><BR/>One of the biggest reasons is because Bush only too willing to take on the mantle of White Knight Crusader for Freedom but is not willing to make the committment required to effectively manage a conquered nation. One of the historic examples Bush supporters like to refer to by way of comparison is the U.S. occupations of Germany and Japan after WWII. What they fail to realize is that there was no attempt made at acheiving "flowers at our feet" populist support from the conquered nations. Both Germany and Japan were completely and devastatingly crushed by the Allies and then placed under martial law for a number of years. The Allies made certain that the social superstructure of modern democracy was in place before control was ever passed to the people of those nations. We didn't give them freedom for freedom's sake, as Bush seems to believe he's doing in Iraq. We gave them no other option but to become the nations we and the other Allies wished them to become, regardless of their thoughts on the matter. Neither Bush, his supporters nor the American people in general had the stomach to do in Iraq what needed to be done if they truly wanted a stable post-Saddam era.Samurai Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13874504160316803215noreply@blogger.com