>
>
> Jeffrey Fisher wrote:
>>
>> i agree a legitimate *iraqi* government (gov't by and for iraqis)
>> established through elections is something to push for,
>
> How are you going to exert any power in this direction. Seriously, you
> simply reduce yourself to a chatterer on the sidelines by when you take
> _any_ postion as to what the U.S. is going to do there, because no one
> is going to pay any attention to you.
i suppose, except insofar as one might change people's minds in conversations at bars and on (other ;-) mailing lists, and that that might go somewhere. aren't you the great promoter of organizing one by one?
>
>
>> what i wonder is
>> what we'll do when people vote for a shiite theocracy.
>>
>
> If by "we" you mean posters to this list, we are going to stand on the
> sidelines and chatter.
>
> If by "we" you mean the United States (regardless of who occupies the
> White house), "we" are going to kill more people.
>
> Our (LBO) opinions cannot make _any_ difference whatever on what the
> United States does in Iraq over the next two or three years. _All_ that
> we can do that is at all practical (i.e. has even one chance in several
> thousand of influencing events) is to keep denouncing the U.S. presence
> there _as a way_ of maintaining and building a core who can began to
> expand their reach as the quagmire deepens.
which is more chatter, no? where's the practical value of this? as you say, it can't make any difference, certainly not the way you're thinking about it.
>
> I said that two years ago in reference to Afghanistan. My prediction
> was
> true. The "left" had no impact on events there.
any response i contemplate here would sidetrack us hopelessly into a long and fruitless conversation. imo.
>
> It might make a person feel better about him/herself if he/she worked
> out a "good policy" for the U.S. to follow in its occupation of Iraq,
> but it won't have any effect on the rest of the worlds.
>
well, i personally have had a great deal of difficulty assessing the situation, and, yes, i feel better now. not sure that's such a bad thing, really.
j