Can of Worms

[ewagner]

This morning's news is terribly depressing. I've been trying to sort out my feelings about Iraq and what should be done to end the violence that takes place every day.

I can't find another historical precedent for what is happening in Iraq. In my lifetime at least whenever the US engaged in Military action in another country, we were supporting a regime or jumping in on the side of a faction that had at least some semblance of popular support. Iraq is nothing like that.

There was no "opposition party" with popular support that could replace the Saddam regime. We didn't go into the country to support a popular uprising against Saddam. Worse yet, there is more than ample evidence to suggest that the United States had no plan on what to do after Saddam was toppled. We were either ignorant of the cultural and historic realities of Iraq or we ignored them. We were either ignorant of or indifferent to the risks of our actions in terms of the effect on the entire Gulf Region.

We opened the proverbial Can of Worms .

There seems to be only two schools of thought on what to do now that the can has been opened: either cut and run or "stay the course". The stay the course option has a couple of variations in that it could include participation by NATO or the UN or it could be a solo US operation but the prognosis is still the same: more soldiers and civilians will die.

A cut and run option is equally obnoxious. Civil war, intervention by one or more of Iraq's neighbors and a safe haven for Al Queda are all possible outcomes.

I've listened to some experts on Middle Eastern affairs (what few are available) and not one has offered a reasonable alternative to close this can of worms. Traditional diplomatic techniques don't seem to work here. Somebody has to start thinking creatively or we will never get out of this mess.

Thanks to the Bush Administration for their incompetence we may be faced with the cliche' that once a can of worms is opened, the only way to deal with it is put it in a larger can (of worms).

[skooooo]

1. Creative thinking needed??

Well, we're in deep shit then, 'cause last time Bush showed any creative thinking was probably in kindergarten -- you know, before he screwed up his brain with alcohol and cocaine.

[ewagner]

2. There has to be somebody

out there that can come to the front .......

God, there just has to be...............

[ex_jew]

3. Historical precedent - Waco ?