A good reminder for the darkest days
Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 9:27AM ìExpert, too, become lost in fog of war,î David D. Perlmutter, USA Today, 4 May, p. 13A.
Brilliant op-ed in todayís USA Today by military historian. Itís just a reminder that virtually every war weíve ever waged pretty much sucked all the way through until in ended and we realized it was a win (or didnít realize the loss in Vietnam). Thatís why the definition of success here is what is crucial. Not an instant democracy, nor the end of all terror there, but an Iraq government that can police its own population and doesnít stand in the way of growing broadband economic, social, and technological connectivity between that population and the outside world.
Everybody thinks weíre ending something in Iraq (Saddam). Itís the other way around. Weíre starting something. Weíre accelerating the great rule-set clash that history demands will play itself out within Islam as globalization advances. Weíre just globalizationís bodyguardóletting the connectivity flow in and making sure the wannabe dictators canít shut down the flow.
Reader Comments