Re:<How can anyone respect the US when we have a "do what we say, not what we do" attitude?>
What is your point here? What does an abuse, by a few misguided soldiers have to do with the Bush administration or the United States. This is a great country. But it has its miscreants... even its malcontents, Sara. Part of what makes it great is that instead of allowing the brass to suppress bad news it ends up being fodder for every "told you so" junkie in the world.
War is ugly and you know that. It also may be inevitable since intelligent human beings have inevitably resorted to it despite unwanted collateral tragedies. When human beings (using the term loosely) are willing to use any location as a killing field, then better that it be one of our choosing.
You argue that war is unacceptable and that other means to an end are essential. Yet you offer nothing new to deal with the anarchies of Al Qaeda, Jamas...etc... We cannot sit idly by and wait until nuclear warheads get into the hands of these brutes....and we wont. If you don't think this is their goal then you are indeed misguided.
You argue that Iraq had nothing to do with Al Qaeda and yet see how easily they have penetrated the borders and taken up the jihad in this Muslim world. Don't allow yourself to be so swayed by your hatred for Bush. If you must hate, you might apply some of that hatred to those terrorist who would kill you just as soon as look at you.
Re:<Then it would have been better to have them involved from the beginning instead of alienating them. Wouldn't it have been wiser to have them involved in the planning for the post war at least? That's a failure in planning and diplomacy. Burning bridges that he is now going back and trying to mend.>
The UN was involved from the beginning. There were too many agendas, some quite self serving from our "allies", to allow for the kind of diplomacy that you suggest. Yes the post-war planning could have been better. This could be said of any war.
Failure in diplomacy is a catchy phrase for you. But it is a two edged sword. Had the world united to force Saddam from power there wouldn't have been any need for military action. Those in bed with Saddam didn't have the moral courage to take that stand. Big surprise. War is the inevitable result of diplomatic failure. I just don't happen to believe that the failure was George W Bush's....
AI
