Quote Originally Posted by wm View Post
I believe we both are aware that a nation's true motives are usually pretty transparent to the rest of the world. So perhaps the better position to take would be one that does not try to sugar coat what we are up to.
Agreed and that was a large part of my point in the comment. I believe Churdhill had it right when he said "You can always rely on the Americans to do the right thing -- after they have tried every conceivable alternative." We do generally try but our governmental system is conducive to false starts and that is exacerbated by the bureaucracy -- and too often enhanced by stupidity in high places...
Just like any other nation, the US is looking out for numero uno and, perhaps, sees this trial process as a way of not getting caught out in a similar series of "kangaroo court" activities against its own citizens without grounds for protest.
Perhaps, however my less benign take is that the lawyers screwed the pooch in the process.
The fact of the matter might more likely be that we are trying these folks not because we want the rest of the world to think we are nice but because some part of our leadership needs to be able to live with its collective conscience and is now trying to justify bad actions after the fact.
That too is possible but I'm strongly inclined to believe that it's simply the aforementioned Churchill syndrome in action. As they say, never ascribe to evil what is due to stupidity.
If I am correct in this line of thinking, then it also goes a long way to explaining the spate of recent "kiss and tell" and other funny justificatory books like McClellan's and Feiths that are coming out of the publishing houses.
Those types of apologia always appear after every traumatic event; self justification is strong instinct...

I'd submit that in the case of the two you cite, the former is indicative of the fact that those, like Bush (and a lot of Generals), who want 'people they know and trust' in positions of power are the progenitors of the Peter Principle and that the latter author is added proof of that, due to Cheney doing the same thing, as well with the fillip of a massive ego in government not being an asset.

We do the right thing far more often that not and that is a good thing. Generally when we do not do so it's due to a person; a squeaking wheel, in the wrong place at the wrong time who takes deliberate or inadvertent advantage of the governmental system and the bureaucracy to effect an action that he or she believes to be required. Usually, the system catches that, albeit slowly, then corrects itself.

Unfortunately, due again to the system, the correction is frequently an over correction, thus we seem to lurch about like a drunk from one extreme to the other before finally getting it right. It confuses the daylights out of the rest of the world who prefer to take it slow and easy and do not recognize that we are taking it slow -- just not easy. It's not the American way.

The annoying thing to me is that has been a feature (or a bug?) in our government for a great many years. Seems to me that a workaround for that should be developed. It could be easily done -- except for the fact that each new Administration will reject anything that has gone before and try to do it their way. That is just ego driven stupidity.

I can hardly wait until this time next year...