[lbo-talk] Stratfor on President Kerry's Iraq imperial strategy

[Carl Remick]

>From: Shane Mage <shmage at pipeline.com>
>
>THE STRATFOR WEEKLY
>15 April 2004
>
>Bush's Crisis: Articulating a Strategy in Iraq and the Wider War
>
>... The president and his
>administration do not seem willing to provide a coherent
>explanation of the strategy behind the Iraq campaign. What was
>the United States hoping to achieve when it invaded Iraq, and
>what is it defending now? There are good answers to these
>questions, but Bush stays with platitudes....
>
>It could be argued that in a democratic society like the United
>States, it is impossible to lay bare the cold-blooded reasoning
>behind a war, and that the war needs to be presented in a
>palatable fashion. This might be true -- and there are examples
>of both approaches in American history -- but we tend to think
>that in the face of Sept. 11, only a cold-blooded plan, whose
>outlines are publicly presented and accepted, can work. We could
>be wrong, but on this we have no doubt. ...
>
>We are convinced that the Bush administration has a defensible
>strategy. It is not a simple one and not one that can be made
>completely public, but it is a defensible strategy. ...
>We doubt strongly that
>building democracy in Iraq is the cry that will rally the
>American nation.

What on earth is this all about -- is Stratfor calling for some kind of 
counter-jihad?  Have they completely lost their minds?  It's hard to tell 
anything because this "analysis" is so coy.  This is the first piece by 
Stratfor I've read in some time.  It will be the last.

Carl

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