> > Which is a good chunk of my point: For well established emprical
> > reasons the US (be it govt or people) should have little or no say in
> > such a force in Iraq or practically anywhere.
>
> That is not true, but let's set that aside.
What's not true?
>You ever hear of anyone
> in a 12-Step Program beseech others to take up, in his stead, the
> habit he just kicked?
The example I've been using in conversation is that of a shoe fetishist suffering from OCD and paranoid schizophrenia who refuses medication and, after a number of episodes of harrassment, arguably sexual assault, and shoplifting in the course of "liberating" his beloved footwear, is served a restraining order to bar him from within 500ft of a Nike superstore. Note that this restriction does NOT exclude others from shoe shopping!
I find the analogy about as instructive as the 12-step program, and the isomorphisms far more entertaining to contemplate.
-- Andy