Prescience

[SteveMetz]

As research for my book, I've been re-reading a series of short essays entitled "One Year On: Power, Purpose and Strategy in American Foreign Policy" from the Fall 2002 issue of The National Interest. I've been struck by how prescient some of the comments were:

"Too weak to oppose American power, yet fearing its exercise, most other nations may be expected to comply with our wishes. Nevertheless, the world's loss of confidence in the benign purview of American power might well turn out to be the principal legacy of the war on terror. It could turn out to be a high price to pay for victory."

Robert W. Tucker

"One of the problems that today confront American statesmen in dealing with the rest of the world is that the United States considers itself to be 'at war', but, with the obvious exception of Israel, no one else does...

The connection between, on the one hand, an act perpetrated by mainly Saudi conspirators using box-knives as their main weapon, and on the other the internationally proscribed manufacture of weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein, has never been clearly established...

In focusing on 'rogue states' the Bush Administration may have settled for something within its military capacity, but in dealing with the consequences of that destruction it will need all the help it can get. Nor is there the slightest reason to suppose that such victories would eliminate, or even reduce, the threat posed by international terrorism. Arguably, they could increase it."

Michael Howard.

[Cavguy]

Steve,

Nice post. Your new Avatar looks like the head of an insurgent we found last year after he blew himself up wiring an IED!

Almost gave me a PTSD moment.

I liked the gamecock (or whatever it was) better!

[SteveMetz]

Steve,

Nice post. Your new Avatar looks like the head of an insurgent we found last year after he blew himself up wiring an IED!

Almost gave me a PTSD moment.

I liked the gamecock (or whatever it was) better!

I removed the Gamecock in case there are any University of Georgia participants here. I've heard enough whining for one week.

Go to http://pictures-i-like.com/ and click on the "self portraits" link.

Another quotation from the same series:

"...the United States either has to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict or distance itself from Israel. Otherwise, the terrorism problem will never go away, and might even get worse."

John Mearsheimer

[Tom Odom]

Another quotation from the same series:

"...the United States either has to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict or distance itself from Israel. Otherwise, the terrorism problem will never go away, and might even get worse."

John Mearsheimer

Hmmm sounds like.....me.

best

Tom

[skiguy]

or distance itself from Israel

Good luck getting all the American Christians on board with this. If only they were all supersessionists like me.

[Cavguy]

Go to http://pictures-i-like.com/ and click on the "self portraits" link.

Wow. Enlightening. Personally I vote for the blue hat pic. Makes you look urban/hip.

[RTK]

For a few days I thought Steve was showing us his new tatoo that made him look like Puzzleman

[Tom Odom]

Go to http://pictures-i-like.com/ and click on the "self portraits" link.

Oh wow man....this is like a spider smokin ganga

[LawVol]

I removed the Gamecock in case there are any University of Georgia participants here. I've heard enough whining for one week.

You are a much nicer man than I. I would have used the scoreboard for an avatar for at least a week! Of course, I'm still bitter over the abuse I took from a few UGA fans the year they beat us 41-14 (I even tried to congratulate them with a beer; they refused it. Typical). Too bad I couldn't run into those guys after we hung half a hundred on them last year.

Now I'm even more worried about the ole' ball coach and those Gamecocks. Go Big Orange!

[Rank amateur]

I
"...the United States either has to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict or distance itself from Israel. Otherwise, the terrorism problem will never go away, and might even get worse."

John Mearsheimer

Good luck getting all the American Christians on board with this.

Both statements are true, though I think the belief that the Palestinians don't deserve their own country runs even deeper than any one religious group. Consider it a form of job security.