An Asymmetric War of Ideas

[J Wolfsberger]

Steve,

Well, I think the bit at the end is best left for a different type of discussion board. I personally am a card-carrying, contributing member of the RNC who is also listed in the Heritage Foundation's database of conservative public policy experts and I think the Bush strategy has been a failure of tragic, historic proportion.

I'm in 100% agreement. I didn't amplify out of thinking it might be too inappopriate to this board (and being chicken).

But your analogy of the European religious wars is interesting. I looked at it from a different perspective, though. I kept thinking of the Bush strategy which says there is a "civil war" within Islam and we are going to shape this by "empowering the moderates." That would have been like the Turkish caliph lending his support to the Protestants in Europe. How much would that have helped them?

Again, I agree, and I think that was one among many serious flaws in the Bush admin's approach. Had we taken the approach that we were drawn into a religious war against our will, we'd be in much better shape to implement to type of IO advocated by Jim Guirard at TrueSpeak.