Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Lengthy Stench of Victory

To President Bush (and, yes, President Obama now, too, unfortunately), "mission" (especially when it comes to nation-building) is rarely, if ever, truly "accomplished". Hell, folks, it's been over a century since Teddy Roosevelt initially claimed victory in the Philippines and, yeah, you got it, we're still frigging presiding there. And, no, it isn't just a window dressing, either. I was listening to the author, James Bradley (Flags of Our Fathers), and, according to him, American journalists/visitors STILL need copious amounts of protection in many, many, parts of the Philippines. Of course, now that a sizable Mulim minority exists in these and numerous other sections, the feeling now is that we're hated EVEN MORE NOW. Great, huh - Iraq and Afghanistan, 100 years from now?

4 comments:

Commander Zaius said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Commander Zaius said...

I alternate between thinking this nation building crap is some grand conspiracy by the rich and powerful of simply while playing the "The Great Game" our leaders get tied up in their own words and past history.

Either way the common folks are screwed.

Commander Zaius said...

Excuse the typos, I'm still drinking my coffee.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

And without a draft, a real draft in which the rich and powerful are not exempt, the vast majority of this country ends up without a stake in the battle. And, yes, relatively quiet.