[Paleopsych] dying for a mistake

[Michael Christopher]

>>Is the war in Iraq a mistake?  "Yes"
Are soldiers dying for a mistake?  "No"
This makes no sense.<<

--Actually, since cleaning up a mistake is a worthy
goal, it IS possible for soldiers to die as a
CONSEQUENCE of a mistake, but for a good purpose. No
matter who gets the US out of Iraq will have to
sacrifice lives, either American or Iraqi, in the
process. Whatever action minimizes that loss of life
and provides the greatest chance for stability in the
Middle East will be the right one, and there is no
certainty that Bush or Kerry will make the best choice
possible. Kerry's selling point is that he's able to
adapt to changing conditions that Bush avoids
recognizing. The danger in being too adaptable is that
one ends up being wagged by one's tail. The danger in
being too resolute is that one can drive off a cliff
in defiance of reality. What's needed is something in
the middle, and Kerry may be establishing himself as
the "realist" rather than the "flip-flopper", a
significant upgrade in his image. Not good for Bush's
sense of security.

It is, of course, possible that Kerry winning the
election would be a bad thing, in that it would lead
to Democrats and liberals taking the blame for the
consequences of Bush decisions. I honestly can't say
which candidate would result in the US becoming a
better or safer nation. As much as I dislike Bush's
tendency to fall into groupthink and tunnel vision,
there's a part of me that wants to see the
consequences of current policy fall on those who are
responsible for it. At that point, a change of
leadership would offer a fresh start, rather than a
guarantee of more partisan blamestorming. But is a
positive shift in the balance of liberal/conservative
thinking worth the risk of four more Bush years? Or
would Kerry possibly be respected by Conservatives
once he's in office? If there were any hint of
bipartisan support for Kerry, it would be an easy
decision, but I worry that he'll win and get the blame
for a mess he didn't create, leading to an even more
strident and uncompromising anti-liberal regime in
2008. 

Michael



		
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