Quote Originally Posted by marct View Post
I think it is more profitable, from a pragmatic viewpoint, to ask a somewhat different series of questions such as

*What is the moral (ethical) justification for staying in Iraq?
Same reason you "curb your dog" on a walk or pick up after it with a bag when it dumps on the neighbor's front yard.
*How is this justification operationalized?
By cleaning up the mess you and your dog have made.
*What are the long term policy implications of this justification?
Remember that your pets have impacts on others too. If you aren't prepared to clean up after those pets, then don't own them and find some other ways to exercise your need to control other, "less fortunate" critters.
*What are the long term institutional implications of this justification?
Maybe we will find out that our institutional framework ought to be much less Occidental consumerist-centric, that "testosterone-induced" urges to flex the leadsership's will are the wrong ones to follow, and that a policy framework that treats the rest of the world as our dumping ground is not such a great idea.


This really does get beyond the somewhat neo-Thomistic wrangling over terms such as "insurgency" and "civil war" .
Thanks for that summation, Marc. I really didn't want to start on the "that depends on what you mean by 'is' " diatribe again. "Casuistry is so pre-19th Century, " he said in his best Valley-girl nasal whine.