Nasty Little Man

In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve

And there's no one more deserving right now than the 51% of voting Americans who chose George W. Bush in 2004.

The escalation of the war in Iraq will begin shortly. The President believes that American soldiers going door-to-door, neighborhood-to-neighborhood, is going to quell the violence in the shattered country.

As I heard a public official say this week (can't remember who, but I think it was Senator Chuck Hagel), there's an assumption in the president's plan that more troops equals more security. I don't buy that premise. More troops could mean less security. When you add heat to a simmering pot of water, it gets hotter and boils.

There's no indication from the Iraqi government that they want to crack down on al-Sadr and other Shiites who are wreaking havoc. As long as armed Shiites have the backing of the government, the violence will not stop, and no level of U.S. escalation will stop it.

That doesn't mean the alternative- a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops- is a picnic. Iraq might not get much better as we leave, but at least one element that inspires the mayhem- the occupiers of the United States- will be subtracted from the equation.

This whole thing led me to think about something I read by Thich Nhat Hanh recently about the elimination of nuclear arms. Thay said that the United States could lead the way in abolishing nukes by unilaterally destroying x-number of arms. If more countries follow suit in the months that follow, the U.S. could destroy more, and so on.

Maybe if the U.S. partially backs away, they will lead the way to peace. Why not try it? Nothing else Bush has tried has worked.

Labels: George W. Bush, Iraq

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 9:09 PM