> That's the sort of deadline that he should have come up with
> _two years ago_, but he couldn't give up on the imperial
> venture while running for president.
He certainly could. This whole line of reasoning that US policies are pre-ordained or over-determined strikes me as a bunch of crock.
A more likely scenario is that consultants and pundits who advised Kerry saw taking an openly anti-war stance as too risky, and Kerry went with their advice again, because he tried to minimize risk. These folks seem to live in their own world in which their fears, perceptions, and spooks obscure the reality. This is not just Kerry and his advisors - Saddam government seemed to be even more deluded http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4837276.stm. Heile Selassie's delusions in the final stages of his rule are nicely documents in "The Emperor: the Downfall of an Autocrat" by Ryszrd Kapuscinski. I am pretty sure Ken Lay still believes that Enron would pull it, if it were nor "raided" by the fed. Hitler was still dreaming of a victory when the Red Army was shelling Berlin.
I'd go as far as saying that most elites end up deluded, isolated in their own world. Being determines consciousness. The elite existence, where scheming, intrigue, desire to maintain and increase one's power take precedence over the "real life" concerns eventually produces a sick and debased consciousness that is genuinely unable to "smell the coffee" and function outside the box it created.
As I said time and again, I tend to believe that it is chaos, not logic and intelligence (either good or evil), that rules the world. Those who seem to be on the "top" of things - making motions as if they were in charge and taking credit for historical outcomes, as well as those who curse their power, evil genius, and conspiratorial prowess - are deluding themselves. A more likely explanation is sheer luck - being at the right place and the right time, able to gamble and exploit opportunities as they emerge.
I think that what ultimately did Kerry in was his inability to gamble and take the risk. He wanted to play it safe and avoid unnecessary exposure to attacks. In the end, he was attacked and damaged in his own stronghold - his war record. This is, in a way, ironic. Prudence and caution is perhaps the most desirable quality of the leader of a nuclear empire, yet it is the reckless gambler who has the best chance of occupying this position.
Wojtek