Condi and the remaking of the Middle East

Link: Daily Kos: Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation..

If the president sees it as America's mission to change the political character of Middle Eastern countries and to change the mindset of the peoples therein, and if he is of the opinion that this can be done initially through force of arms, and subsequently through massive expenditures of American money, and if he thinks that this mission will take upwards of a generation, he needs to come before a joint session of Congress and make his case to the elected representatives of the American people and simultaneously to the American people watching at home. He needs to explain why he thinks force of arms (invasion) is the best way to sweep away this "malignancy" and the best way to encourage healthy tissue to grow in its place. He needs to name the countries that he is prepared to invade - Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc. He needs to ask Congress to reinstate the draft in order to ensure sufficient men under arms. He needs to warn the American people that sacrifices will be required of them - higher taxes, foregoing expenditures on domestic programs, and should the world's production of oil be significantly impacted, higher prices for energy at a minimum and perhaps higher prices all around. And most importantly, Bush needs to define the ultimate shape and character that he envisions for these countries so that all can judge whether the effort is worthwhile.

Comments

[Susi Nord]

Isn't this what many of us have been saying he wanted to do? No one really believes me, but I remember distinctly saying to Bobby during the first Bush-Gore debate that if Bush won, we were going to invade Iraq. Who knew he wasn't going to win, and we'd invade them anyway...

I'm still not ready to say that they planned 9/11 to create an atmosphere where the American people would accept this insanity, but there is certainly some suspicion there. I've read on dKos in the Plame/Wilson blogs that people think Fitzgerald might be on to this, which would tear this country apart, so I really hope that isn't the case. But the more I learn about the lies and deception that this administration has committed, the more I worry that they REALLY crossed the line.

Anyway, I for one appreciate them FINALLY putting their real agenda on the table. Now if the rest of America who swallowed the red pill would just WAKE UP and realize that they have been lied to for years and that we actually invaded another sovereign nation (no matter how bad the leader, he was theirs - as much as I hate Bush, I wouldn't want China to come liberate us!)

But Oh My God, what can we do now to extricate ourselves from this catastrophe of our own making? Does the average non-news-junky American have the stomach to clean up what we have wrought on the citizens of Iraq? Will this destroy our government by being the proof that the conservatives have always needed - government is corrupt? Self fulfilling prophecy, I know, but how do politicians regain the trust of average Americans, and frankly the rest of the world?

When I think of the scope of this, I really just hope like hell I'm wrong. I don't know if the country can survive it...