A Noble Cause......

National Review Online ^ | 12/06/05 | William J Stuntz

[The Drowning Witch]

Didn't see this posted after a search, but I think this needs to be said AGAIN. And again. And again. And Again.

[The Drowning Witch]

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[The Drowning Witch]

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[Eagles6]

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[The Drowning Witch]

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[Redbob]

Good points here, but it certainly ascribes nobler motives to Lincoln than any he himself professed.

Or that it seems likely he possessed.

[GladesGuru]

Like so much that emanates from Harvard, this has serious faulty premises. For example "And the purpose for which our current war was begun--capturing Saddam Hussein's supposed stash of WMDs-- toppling Saddam and seizing his chemical and biological weapons probably wasn't worth the sacrifice of 2,000-plus American lives (as long as nuclear weapons weren't in the picture). ,"

Ah, but the fact is that Saddam Hussein had both sophisticated nerve gas and biological weapons. Thus the author's premise that only nukes are a real WMD borders on the delusional.

Still, parts of the article were very well done.

[Txsleuth]

What a terrific article....should be a "must read" by every Congresscritter.

[Txsleuth]

Your point is a good one...and I would also argue that Bush himself wasn't intending this to be a "little war" that just got rid of Saddam and weapons..

He had a vision and purpose for changing the political climate in the Middle East from the beginning...he isn't as dumb as the dems think...and he knows how necessary it is to change Iraq to an allied democratic nation for the future of well, the future.

[jwh_Denver]

Bush also wanted a US military base in the Middle East.

[Txsleuth]

Very true...and that is why this call by the dems for a complete withdrawal is so ludicrous...

At least as long as Iran and Syria are kicking sand in Bush's face, he is not going to give up the strategic position the troops are in right now...and I don't look for those two countries to be democracies by 2008...

[SteveMcKing]

America lost the Civil War, in my opinion. 1776-1865... not a bad run.

Not saying we should revert to a Confederacy. Federal agencies, however sinister in principle, are necessary forces of the modern world. Ironically, they may be our last hope to restore some kind of freedom and sanity like existed ... well, never before.

[Lejes Rimul]

Lol what a ridiculous attempt to put lipstick on a pig. "We're stuck in Iraq indefinitely, but it's all for the best, really it is!" Sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

[GeronL]

Hindsight motives. He gave the government more power than ever before, and it has become a monster

[wildcatf4f3]

thank you, i have forwarded to all on my list.

[Christian4Bush]

bttt

[Jackknife]

Great post, Witch!

One big difference is the leadership each POTUS had/has in place. In four years of Lincoln's war, he had seven commanding generals, and it prolonged the war (perhaps for the better, as the article states,"Brief wars rarely produce permanent results, but long wars often do."). Pres. Bush has for the most part had great commanders in place, and I think that will minimize the time it takes to accomplish this mission.

[Jackknife]

These are figures for the ten costliest battles of the American civil war. The numbers are astounding. Having been to seven of these ten fields, imagining that many men present, much less the amount laying dead and wounded after the fighting, is often hard to do.

One prime example is Antietam, or Sharpsburg. In a single day battle, from just before dawn to after dark on a long summer day, a combined 26,134 men were killed. Many of these were in a thick cornfield where confusion ruled the fighting. No one could see the enemy, and many shot their own ranks in front of them.

Point being, it really puts our casualty numbers in Iraq in a different perspective.

[Rabble]

"One prime example is Antietam, or Sharpsburg. In a single day battle, from just before dawn to after dark on a long summer day, a combined 26,134 men were killed."

Estimates are 22,720 total casualties, of which 3,650 were killed, 17,300 wounded, and 1,770 missing/captured. You can verify my numbers at:

http://www.nps.gov/anti/casualty.htm

[MHGinTN]

"And yet today, America seems ready, even eager, to concede defeat and withdraw ... " To ascribe the goal of the degenerate democrat party to 'America', as the author did in the cited phrase, is at once to ascribe more power and 'rightness' to the most dangerous enemy of these United States ... the damnable abortion loving terrorist protecting, hate mongering democrats.