[Bruxley]

Musketeer makes a very good point. The very heart of why success in Iraq is so important.

You don't have to be idealistic to understand that people want ownership of their own lives. Arabs and Persians, whether Islamic Muslims or not, are as human as you and I. The Islamic fascists don't define the culture. The work of General Petraeus over the last year has succeeded BECAUSE they want liberty and the Petraeus approach has been a bottom up, or local to central, assurance that they CAN live how THEY want as long as they DON'T kill their neighbor for living how THEY want. Then keeping that promise. Soon the people themselves saw AlQ as the one telling them under threat how to live not the Americans. And as the promise was kept the Iraqis chased AlQ off with the Americans.

Take hold of the concept of liberty as ownership of ones own life and that Persians and Arabs are human and also desire that. As Americans we take for granted our liberty. We have enjoyed it for so long that we have developed an expectation of justice. We actually EXPECT justice. This is counter the the culture in the middle east where people expect injustice. The desire for liberty is usurped by the desire to survive. The assertion of their desire for liberty has been met with death until now as they didn't have the strong ally we did in France to overcome the overwhelming power that kept that desire down.

The dramatic progress in Iraq wasn't from bombing Iraqis into submission, playing whack-a-mole, it has been by a bottom up or local to central change in the expectations of Iraqis. They are seeing a possibility that they may be able to expect justice.

Long term, bombs and bullets are of less force then the force of liberty and the change of expectation from expecting injustice to expecting justice in the culture of the middle east. The spread of that will do more damage to the threat of terrorism then bombs. That is the WHOLE Operation Iraqi Freedom premise. To spread this in the middle east.


Now, with that said, once you become a mass murderer you've lost all credibility and righteous indignation. I tell my kids that it's not what happens to you that determines if you will get justice or not, it's what you do about it.

If your pissed at the US, with cause or not, you have absolutely no justification to commit acts of terrorism. NONE. Being pissed at your city council does not justify blowing up the city bus depot.

The comments by Obama in the days after 9/11 reveal that he buys into the 'we deserved it' mentality that is taught in Madrases across the middle east. His comments are not as much apologist as that would show a a recognition that it was wrong as they are justifying what happened. "Yeah it was tragic but justified" sums up his comments.