Reasons for War

So I was trooling around on the web looking for a PDF called "How to Win In Anbar". I found it, but haven't figured out how I can post it here as viewable within the blog... Keep working on that, but I digress. I found this comment and had to laugh:

"See, whatever reason that American troops were sent to Iraq in the first place isn't important (something about Americans invited into Iraq as peacekeepers, or something), they're there now, fighting for freedom. It isn't America's fault that Iraqis are incapable of democracy. They only understand violence. Americans are referees, really. They are trying their hardest to help those ungrateful people who don't love their children the way westerners do. All they need is more body armor and troops to help the democratic process. Iraqis are like children, who need the guiding hand of a benevolent and selfless parent, who isn't afraid to use the belt when that child misbehaves...

Sorry, I was channeling the Democrats there for a second. Ever since the election, the war's rationale has undergone a cognitive sidestep: It's all the Iraqis fault."

It seems that the reasons keep changing, and the mission is never actually defined in any measurable or achievable way regardless of who has control. Frustrating.

Anti-Americans Are Everywhere

OK, so this is a blatant cut and paste repost of a Thomas Woods piece on lewrockwell.com. I couldn't help but put this up again, it is a great then and now comparison of Iraq to Bosnia...

State Senator Robert Clegg calls Ron Paul "anti-American" for opposing the foreign policy of a small group of people in Washington. (The rest of America doesn't count -- the 35 people who make the policy are America, so no questioning them.)

Here are what some Republicans were saying about U.S. military operations in Bosnia in 1995. I'm inclined to think they escaped Mr. Clegg's censure.

"You can support the troops but not the president."
-- Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."
-- Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"
-- Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"[The] President...is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
-- Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."
-- Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."
-- Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W. Bush

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning.... I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."
-- Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today."
-- Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
-- Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Source.