Monday, October 21, 2013

Less Money For Bombs, More Money For Bridges

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, few disputed there was a need to respond, by eliminating the safe haven for al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. But when that seemed too easy -- when not enough ass was kicked, it seems -- we turned to Iraq, muttering something about "weapons of mass destruction" that weren't even there. Killing mass numbers of people, just to prove that you can, is morally unconscionable. But does it even work?. After nearly seven decades of post World War II butt-kickery, U.S. respect and support -- and arguably power and influence -- are at or near record lows. The nations that are on the rise are the ones that have invested less in producing weapons of mass butt-kickery and more in "soft" things like education and bridges that don't collapse. That is the reality-based world that our president and are generals have failed to see -- the one that was staring them in the face when they thought they were kicking butt.
All of this.  Until some senior Americans are held to account (just once!) for war crimes, we'll continue to bomb instead of build.  But in the meantime they get book deals and TV gigs and speakers fees and fawning media treatment.
Shared from the Digg iPhone app:
After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, few disputed there was a need to respond, by eliminating the safe haven for al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. But when that seemed too easy -- when not enough ass was kicked, it seems -- we turned to Iraq, muttering something about "weapons of mass destruction" that weren't even there. Killing mass numbers of people, just to prove that you can, is morally unconscionable. But does it even work?. After nearly seven decades of post World War II butt-kickery, U.S. respect and support -- and arguably power and influence -- are at or near record lows. The nations that are on the rise are the ones that have invested less in producing weapons of mass butt-kickery and more in "soft" things like education and bridges that don't collapse. That is the reality-based world that our president and are generals have failed to see -- the one that was staring them in the face when they thought they were kicking butt.




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