> Really? You don't think that a clear message was sent to
> Saddam-would-bes that if you don't play ball then you will get
> regime-changed?
Oh, the irony is deeper than that. One of the reasons America is going to hell is that most Americans genuinely don't realize the world is not full of enemies. In reality, 80% of all human beings live under electoral democracies. Most of the remainder live in peaceful, non-aggressive one-party states well on their way to becoming democratic developmental states (Vietnam, China, Cuba). But most Americans genuinely don't know this. Let's take a look at the headlines for CNN's World website, culled just seconds ago:
* Reports: N. Korea proposes family reunions
* Chinese military power worries Japan
* Canada's 'prince of pot' gets five years
* Iran calls off planned release of American hiker
* India, Pakistan unite for U.S. Open
* Report: Al Qaeda still threat to America
* Oil drilling platform arrives at Chilean mine to aid in rescue
* Dateless coin could bring big payday
* Southern Sudan acquires military aircraft
Stalemate in North Korea (cue to the Kim Il-Jung bogeyman), while Iran, China, Sudan and Al-qaeda are all cast as potential wrongdoers or threats. Canadians are ridiculed as pot-heads, some lucky stiff gets rich, the U.S. Open has magical powers to reconcile those caste-ridden South Asians, and oil drilling saves lives. There isn't a single positive word about the rest of the planet.
-- DRR