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2004-02-28

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Posted by tipper 2004-02-28 9:22:52 AM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Donald Rumsfeldâs famous dictum, âthe mission determines the coalition â the coalition does not determine the missionâ, may not be music to the ears of European believers in the multipolar ideal; but it is far from the neo-conservative belief that pursuing coalitions is pointless.

This is kind of simplistic - do neo-conservatives really believe that coalitions are pointless? I can't believe they think that. Rather, they believe, as Rumsfeld does, that the only practical coalitions are the ones that come together out of a sense that they are pursuing common ends.

What is pointless is to pursue coalition allies that are firmly set against a particular approach to achieving policy ends - of deterring countries that provide assistance to countries by threatening to topple them. The simplistic approach, in an age of terrorist mass-murder by proxy, is an approach that merely criticizes those regimes that give aid (money and recruits) and comfort (transit rights and shelter) to the terrorists. A new deterrence is needed - a deterrence that is grounded in acts, not words. Afghanistan and Iraq were the proving grounds for these actions. Various countries that previously provided lip-service to cooperating with US intelligence services in cracking down on terrorists are now attacking and killing them on their home ground. And much of this is attributable to Afghanistan and Iraq - Muslim regimes are frightened - they understand that regime change could happen to them.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2004-2-28 9:55:28 AM|| 2004-2-28 9:55:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 An interesting analysis and one that has an even more interesting subtext which is that Europe and the other second tier powers are second tier in terms of their contribution of ideas to the debate on the future of the world.

The future of the world is being made in the USA not only because of its miltary prowess but becuase of its capacity to formulate and execute (achievable) ideas.

Posted by phil_b 2004-2-28 11:16:49 AM|| 2004-2-28 11:16:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Wow. I can't actually see the neo-conservatives in the Republican party trying to take control, because I don't believe there are any. It's a term made by opposition to make the people who are right-of-center look like fanatics.

Other than that, I agree with what he says.

Posted by Charles 2004-2-28 1:04:21 PM|| 2004-2-28 1:04:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Strict neo-conservatives see America as the new Rome, the only global power of significance in an otherwise dangerous and chaotic world.

says who?

Hey author ...I've rewritten your piece above:

We hailed Colin Powell's multinational arguments as cool and hip and correct. But now that the war is over and we see that Chirac and Schroeder and the UN were just scamming the Iraqi people, stuffing money in their off-shore oil accounts and, unless we wish to justify the horrors of Sadaam's reign, we are forced to admit that Rumsfeld wasn't such an idiot afterall. However, because we just CAN'T bring ourselves to admit that outright, we will admit we were wrong but blather on endlessly how we weren't completely wrong because Cheney is bad and Bush is stupid and the neocons are still out to get you. We believe that if we blather on long enough and throw out enough red herrings and bogus proclamations, like the one above, that we will bore our readers into believing that we are saying something other than, "we were wrong".

Posted by B 2004-2-28 6:06:51 PM|| 2004-2-28 6:06:51 PM|| Front Page Top

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