The historical record is indeed a little negative...
The thing about Iraq-related decisions is that they aren't poorly thought-out. There is this fundamental misunderstanding in dealings with the middle east. Beginning with defensive developmentalism to combat European encroachment, middle eastern people have been constantly exploited and misunderstood. While Dyer does have it right with the first world war and its fallout being major issues in the Arab consciousness, it goes much deeper than that. We (the West) are using our current and temporary economic/military clout to have our way with different people. The idea that we can/should do as we want due to our hegemony is one of the principles of American policy (as far as I can see). Guh, kinda lost track of this response. Whatever, enjoy anyways :p
Oh yeah, thats what i wanted to say... lol The thing is that when leaders deal with the media, they have this whole Vietnam syndrome idea in their heads. So, they will end up saying stupid things. Any invading force should and does expect resistance upon entry to a contested region. While this can vary to some degree, it is fairly clear that it didn't in Iraq. While there were no WMD's, this doesn't mean that the invading force misunderstands the capabilities of Iraqi resistance forces. [/rant]
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The thing about Iraq-related decisions is that they aren't poorly thought-out. There is this fundamental misunderstanding in dealings with the middle east.
Beginning with defensive developmentalism to combat European encroachment, middle eastern people have been constantly exploited and misunderstood. While Dyer does have it right with the first world war and its fallout being major issues in the Arab consciousness, it goes much deeper than that. We (the West) are using our current and temporary economic/military clout to have our way with different people. The idea that we can/should do as we want due to our hegemony is one of the principles of American policy (as far as I can see).
Guh, kinda lost track of this response. Whatever, enjoy anyways :p
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The thing is that when leaders deal with the media, they have this whole Vietnam syndrome idea in their heads. So, they will end up saying stupid things. Any invading force should and does expect resistance upon entry to a contested region. While this can vary to some degree, it is fairly clear that it didn't in Iraq. While there were no WMD's, this doesn't mean that the invading force misunderstands the capabilities of Iraqi resistance forces.
[/rant]
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