[PEN-L:19660] WHERE IS THE VICTORY

[Dennis Breslin]

From: "Carrol Cox" <cbcox at ilstu.edu>
> 
> Sheer blundering incompetence: 'they' really don't know what they're
> doing or why. This tends to be my favorite.
> 
> Imperial Dignity: ... This I think is a more likely explanation than
> oil for the present war: 'they' aren't defending a particular reward of
> empire, they are defending the general right of empire.

Of course, your former point begs the question whether 'they'
are any more competent in running the 'empire,' know that there's
an empire to be run, they're the ones to do it and they're up for
the job.  Reagan's foray into Lebanon or Bush and Clinton's
shouldering of the empire in Somalia suggest that some haven't 
quite got the knack of it.  And then there's the Powell doctrine
of showing the flag only on sure things. 

But I think you're on to something here and 
I suspect that defending the general right to be in control carries
with it a higher risk of things unraveling and unanticipated 
entanglements, both internally and overseas.

Dennis Breslin