Comments on: Guerrillas Derail Darfur Support Mission

By: dave

dave — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 02:45:29 +0000

One part of invading Iraq that I find particularly frustrating is situations like this. Going into Darfur I think is an action that much of the world could get behind the US on, but can we do it now? No, because we're in Iraq and worldwide opinion distrusts us because of that.
"Hard" power hamstrung, 'soft' power deteriorating, all we can do is sit on the sidelines and say mean comments while hoping someone else will step up to end the bloodshed.

By: Aid Troubles in Darfur » The American Mind

Aid Troubles in Darfur » The American Mind — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:39:53 +0000

[...] “Darfur’s Aid Lifeline in Danger” [via OTB] [...]

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:06:26 +0000

No argument here. I just don't accept a thesis founded on the idea that we had to invade Iraq. It was entirely voluntary and any discussion of the history of the mission has to reflect that to be accurate.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:40:27 +0000

Except for the part where the hindsight enabled planners could have called off the entire thing.

Sure. Then again, planners often have to deal with missions they'd rather not be assigned.

I argued against most of the missions of the 1990s but they still took place. Political considerations sometimes, if not often, trump calculations of military feasibility.

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:23:34 +0000

While there were no doubt many serious mistakes made in the transition from the regime change to the reconstruction phase in Iraq, it’s quite likely most of the difficulties we’re now experiencing there would be with us even if our operations planners had the advantage of hindsight.

Except for the part where the hindsight enabled planners could have called off the entire thing. We didn't have to overthrow Hussein, and realistically we shouldn't have. We should have just left Iraq alone and let him get taken out by the Iraqi people (which would have happened sooner or later).

The same civil war might have developed but it wouldn't have been our fault which would have put us in the position of possibly helping to minimize the damage. Novel concept.