[Rhodes22-list] Fwd: FW: I like the way he thinks

[Brad Haslett]

Robert,

Here is Dr. Hanson's latest comments, which are somewhat along the same
lines of thought.

Brad

-----------------

January 11, 2007 Global Schizophrenia*By* *Victor Davis
Hanson*<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/author/victor_davis_hanson/>

When it comes to intervening in international affairs, the United States is
damned when it does and damned when it doesn't. Critics of U.S. policy are
always quick to pounce - and in this age of globalization, they're only
getting more impatient.

It's not just the global geopolitical map that has changed; people
everywhere have, too. Globalization has enriched the planet beyond belief,
leading to ever-increased demands of perfection. And thanks to 24/7
communications, we all instantaneously know when these expectations aren't
met.

The world's public expects that frightening problems, whether an earthquake
in Pakistan, an Indonesian tsunami or a war in Darfur, will be resolved as
quickly as a cell phone can transmit a digital photograph or a computer can
retrieve information from the Internet. And fingers are pointed at the U.S.
when, inevitably, this doesn't happen.

Yet no one, not even the all-powerful United States, can easily foster
democracy in a country that suffered from 30 years of atrocities - and is
now bitterly divided as a result of those atrocities. There is no super-ray
that knocks down Korean or Iranian nukes with the touch of a finger. And the
tragedy in Darfur sadly may remain a bloody mess whether the U.S. preempts,
goes it alone or brings in an enormous coalition.

In many ways, the global reliance on the U.S. has only increased since the
fall of the Soviet Union. While no one would wish to revisit the Cold War,
Moscow, ruling with an iron fist, put down tribal and religious malcontents
in its sphere of influence. Today, there are no superpower blocs; instead a
multitude of freelancing killers have been unleashed with nothing much to
fear from anyone.

How, after all, can one arrest Osama bin Laden hiding out in an Islamist and
nuclear Pakistan? How does one entice nuclear China to force allied,
communist and nuclear North Korea not to threaten a free, rich and rival
Japan?

And at exactly the time the world has become more complex, the wired global
audience is more impatient, demanding - and inconsistent.

When the Bush administration invaded Iraq in March 2003, it was accused of
ignoring old allies and snubbing the U.N. Thus, in the next crisis, a wary
United States waited on the U.N. to monitor Iran's nuclear delinquency. With
multilateral deference, it also called upon Britain, France and Germany -
the so-called EU3 - to reason with Tehran. But for all the inclusive
diplomacy, Iran barrels ahead with its nuclear program.

In another part world, as North Korea threatened to launch more missiles,
America tried to find regional solutions - the so-called six-party talks
involving China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United
States. But nothing much happened here, either, and impatient critics did an
about-face: They screamed that the asleep-at-the-wheel Bush administration
was "outsourcing" solutions and abdicating its responsibility to lead.

We've seen that in Darfur as well, where the global village has clamored for
the U.S. to do something right away about the genocide. But, apparently
stung by past charges of cowboyism, a gun-shy American sheriff has opted not
to act preemptively. If we think Afghanistan or Iraq is chaotic, imagine the
mess of airlifting Marines into the Horn of Africa to save the victims of
tribal and religious killers - as al-Qaida promises to send in more jihadist
reinforcements.

The roster of this do/don't schizophrenia is endless. We once had troops in
Saudi Arabia to protect the monarchy there from Saddam. But once we removed
that threat, the monarchy charged we had only empowered a far worse Iran. We
were supposedly once too cynically disengaged from the Middle East, but now
our efforts to promote democracy there only elected the terrorists of Hamas.

It may be hard for the world's new impatient generation to accept the truth:
There are no simple black-and-white solutions at little cost in today's
technologically connected but politically fragmented world. Restless
Americans and a demanding global public are going to have to accept that in
Afghanistan, Darfur, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Somalia and the West
Bank, the United States itself - not just the bogeyman George Bush - has
only bad and far worse choices.

What sometimes works against jihadists and tyrants in one place won't always
in others. Unilateral, multilateral, react or preempt - these have no innate
moral value but are just differing strategies for a baffling multitude of
new problems that all defy a cookie-cutter approach. After 9/11, caution in
the long run may prove deadlier than intervention has in the short term.
People will die daily on CNN no matter what we do.

The only constant in this wired-together but split-apart global family? The
frantic American parent will try its best, as it is blamed for saying no,
yes - and everything in between.
Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution,
Stanford University, and author, most recently, of "A War Like No Other: How
the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War." You can reach him
by e-mailing author at victorhanson.com.



On 1/11/07, Robert Dobson <robertdobson777 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I must have been dreaming last night. I thought I heard this from the
> President. Dream, Dream ,Dream....!
>
> Note: forwarded message attached.
>
> ---------------------------------
> Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "JBALWIN" <jbalwin at ameritech.net>
> To: "Frank Parker \(personal\)" <fdparkerjr at gmail.com>, "GREG SMITH" <
> geschicago at sbcglobal.net>, "Bob Dobson" <robertdobson777 at yahoo.com>, "Drew
> Michyeta " <drewmich at sbcglobal.net>, "Curt Panfil" <capinv2001 at msn.com>
> Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:01:53 -0600
> Subject: FW: I like the way he thinks
>
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>
>   Subject: I like  the way he thinks
>
>
>
>
>   WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT,
>   DEMOCRAT  OR
>   REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?
>   My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has
>   been  completed.
>   Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our
>    mission in Iraq is complete.
>   This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all
> American    forces from Iraq . This action will be complete within 30 days.
> It is
>   now to begin the  reckoning.
>   Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries
>    which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list    is
> short The United Kingdom,  Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and    Poland are
> some of the countries listed there.
>   The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of
> the    world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be
>   distributing copies  of both lists later this evening.
>   Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to
>   those  nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The
>   money saved during  the first year alone will pretty much pay for the
>   costs of the Iraqi war.
>   The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world
>   Hell-holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on    corruption.
>   Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call  France.
>   In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect
> this    money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at
> home.
>   On that  note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and
>   we will hunt you  down and eliminate you and all your friends from
>   the face of the earth.
>   Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France, or maybe
>   China.
>   I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations
> with    France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We
>   are retiring from NATO as well.  Bon chance, mes amis.
>   I have instructed the Mayor of New York  City to begin towing the
>   many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two
>   unpaid  parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be
>   stripped, shredded and  crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty
>   pertains to this. You creeps have tens  of thousands of unpaid
>   tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your  precious Benzes,
>   Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop  shops in
>   the world. I love New  York.
>   A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2 Since we are
>   likely  to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want
>   to try not pissing  us off for a change.
>   Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt
>   government need  an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra
>   tank and infantry  divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going
>   to put 'em? Yep, border security.  So start doing something with your
>   oil.
>   Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty  -
>   starting now. We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we'll
>   be drilling for oil in Alaska - which will take care of this country's
>   oil needs for decades to come.
>   If you're an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you
>   to  List 2 above: pick a country and move there. They care.
>   It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own
>   citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by
>   saying, "darn tootin." Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a
>   decent life around the world has  only earned us the undying enmity
>   of just about everyone on the planet. It is  time to eliminate hunger
>   in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. It is
>   time to  eliminate World Cup Soccer from America. To the nations on
>   List 1, a final thought. Thanks guys. We owe you and  we won't
>   forget.
>   To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to
>    speak Arabic.  God bless America. Thank you and good night.
>   (Please forward this to at least ten friends; let's get this to every
>    USA  computer!)
>
>
>   GOD BLESS AMERICA
>
>
>
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