Reply #29: "do no harm" [View All]

there's a big problem with your position ...

but first, let me say that you ruined what was otherwise an intelligent post with your "you people" outburst ... most of the "you people" you're complaining about worked our asses off for Kerry because we understood the insanity of the Iraq invasion is bush's fault ... it's silly to suggest we are ONLY blaming Democrats and don't hold bush primarily responsible ...

now, here's the problem i see with your (and Kerry's) position ... i think you've created a false dichotomy between "cutting and running" (i.e. to use your words, saying fuck you to all the innocent people of Iraq) and staying there to "get to the point they can defend themselves and take care of themselves." ... the reason i call this a false dichotomy is because implicit in your arguing of staying there is the belief that we can achieve the laudable objectives you've defined ...

that's the crux of the disagreement ... i don't believe, for all the reasons stated in my previous post, that we can achieve any of the objectives militarily ... in fact, i believe continued military occupation is making any progress totally impossible ... details explaining why i believe this are included in my previous post ... instead of making this about "blaming Democrats", it would be useful if you don't agree with my conclusions to explain why ...

what you're arguing, that we have to do our best to achieve stability, is nothing I would argue with ... we are not disagreeing over desirable outcomes ... we are disagreeing over methods to achieve those outcomes ... my belief, as i stated in my previous post, is that doing more of the same will do nothing but yield more of the same ... and to the extent Kerry is calling for changes, i've already cited why I believe the changes won't work ...

i hesitate to offer an analogy to clarify how i see the situation because they are so often "not analagous" at all ... but perhaps it will at least make my position a bit clearer ... imagine a guy with a large family ... the wife is very ill and needs expensive medical care ... the kids are ill and need money for school ... the rent is way past due ... the guy is sitting at a blackjack table ... he's lost hand after hand after hand ... he's down to his last $1000 ... i see your call for staying in Iraq like telling him how much he needs more money for a very worthy cause ... you're encouraging him to bet in spite of the odds against him and in spite of the realities of how badly he's doing ... your focus on legitimate needs is honorable ... the problem, though, is that foolishly gambling in the face of such unlikely success is what got him into trouble in the first place ... recognizing the need does not in and of itself prescribe the remedy ... sometimes the best available option is "do no harm" ... you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em ...