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 | | From: | Bourbaki | | Subject: | Gumby: Facts I don't like I call criticisms and dismiss them. | | Date: | Sat, 15 Jan 2005 01:22:47 -0600 |
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 | Here's a proposed solution to the problem in Iraq. Increase US troop counts to the level necessary to maintain peace and order. Pour in resources to rival the Berlin airlift and General McArthur's reconstruction of Japan to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure and police forces. Then when things are stable in Iraq, hold elections. Don't leave. America, 60 years after WW II and 50 years after the Korean war, still has bases in Italy, Germany, Japan and Korea to name but a few places. Otherwise, keeping a mere 150,000 troops in Iraq will only lead to ceaseless instability. Accordingly, Americans will eventually tire of the body bags and leave a mess behind as they did in Vietnam. If the United States didn't want such a painful, resource demanding problem, it shouldn't have invaded Iraq in the first place. This is essentially what Secretary Colin Powel said regarding the responsibility of the United States. So don't cry for French or Eurotrash troops. Based on your posted prejudices against the majority of European nations, it would be hypocritical of you.
Of course, I don't believe that your president has the "political cash" to increase troop counts in Iraq, no matter how many times he repeats the exageration that his recent re-election was a clear mandate. Calling 52 or 53 to 48 or 49 percent of the vote a clear mandate is fuzzy math.
PS--I like the way you treat the pincer of facts you're trapped in concerning your late concern for the Kurds, mirroring America's 2 year late concern for the Kurds only AFTER Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened US oil interests. You call facts empty criticisms and feel exhonerated. By the absence of any fact-based refutations on your part, however, it is clear that you tacitly accept the facts as they stand in official US government documents and transcripts of US officials.
By the way, the most valued tool of the scientific method is criticism. Those who put forth ideas have to defend them from active criticism. Even Einstein's theory of relativity is being tested yet again at this very moment with Gravity Probe B. You, M. Gumby, must defend your posts with more than dismissal of fact based criticism. Anyone can do that.
You could use a class in dialectic. As much as you like to use the methods of the Dark Ages, you cannot argue by denial and pontifical fiat. Those times are gone my dear troglodyte. Now for some dialogue.
Question: Given that a US president appoints many officials soon after his swearing in, including many an official in the intelligence business, to what level can a US president absolve himself of erroneous policy on poor intelligence?
Based on your posts, you seem to think the president and his administration, including his hand-picked intelligence officials, are blame free. How do you defend such a position?
Question: For how many months did the US build invasion forces in the Middle East, use spy satellites, get reports from weapons inspectors in Iraq and still come up with a dead wrong conclusion regarding WMD in Iraq? How would you, M. Gumby, suggest improvements to avoid future, costly embarrasments?
Nicolas Bourbaki.
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