Our partners in the end

ARTICLE: "Foreign firms investing in Iraq: U.S. Companies slow to make the move," by Jim Michaels, USA Today, 17 June 2008, p. 1A.

Paul Brinkley, head of the Pentagon office who talked Enterra into entering Iraq, is quoted as saying "It's ironic" that the firms rushing into Iraq to take advantage are not American.

Actually, it's not ironic whatsoever.

Check out the countries described in the piece: Romania, Lebanon, China, Russia, Turkey, France, Germany.

None sent troops, but all showed up for the peace.

"Come as you are" meets "come when you want."

Iraqi foreign minister says: "They take risks. No pain, no gain."

And before you freak on the war-peace divide, realize that 95 percent of our troops die after "mission accomplished" and 85-plus percent since the end of the "lost year."

These countries were our unacknowledged partners all along.

You can either be shocked by that or realize that making it our war to run doesn't translate into making it our peace to exploit.

(Thanks: Rob Johnson)

Comments

[Gilbert Garza]

"These countries were our unacknowledged partners all along."

I don't follow. How are you seeing these countries as our unacknowledged partners all along?

[Gilbert Garza]

I hope as I think you do to have it prove true in time that what is being characterized as effective partnership is not mere accidental incidental and unpredictable flash and glitter rather than the supposed hoped-for beginnings of true Leviathan-sysadmin, military-peace, security-reconstruction, connectivity and outcome. I hope that we truly are being lead to an eventual real institutional and economic rule-set-based connectivity of global partners likely to be of useful service to the furthering of the grand promise and grand strategies of a PNM and BFA.

[CitSAR]

Seems to me, that the US cannot establish the Iraq peace alone. Even if it was possible, it smacks of old time imperialism and that just looks bad - to everyone.

The more players, the more stability and the longer the new order will last. Picking on the US alone is sport to some, especially the tin pot types. Picking on the many, who all have an irrevocable investment - is one heck of a big risk. To me that is the newest form of real deterrent.

[Brian H]

Let's drop the disingenuous "Mission Accomplished" meme, OK? That was the carrier's sailors bragging about their own job in the initial push. The photog had to crawl on the deck at a weird angle to get the shot framing Bush and the banner together.

Typical journo cut-and-paste smear job. You owe your brain better data input than that, Thomas.

[Anonymous]

Brian H: good for the sailors. Bush still landed and spoke on the carrier for a photo op. bad luck for him that this is how it came out. it provides a nicely visual reminder of the true attitude of the Bush Administration and their total mismanagement of the postwar, ok?