Mark Saves the World

Idea check.

I was thinking the other day about the Iraq Bush war. You know - the one where Junior decided to do what his dad was far too smart to do.

A string of ideas flow from this: Argue with me on any one of them if you want, I am willing to discuss - even change my mind.

The war's premise was a lie - but what the hay, most political decisions are based on self serving distortions.

Junior's population is following him in this war because they have been conditioned to. The American school system teaches allegiance to the flag every morning, and the President as the leader must be supported in times of stress.

The American school system is shockingly parochial, and the average American is ignorant about the world beyond their border.
I speak of geography, as well as social, historic, cultural, and religious awareness of the outside world.

The leadership is worse. To question the President is politically tantamount to treason, so even Democrats feel fearful of opposing the war, once begun. Moral cowards. Junior is a religious fanatic with rigid views on right and wrong. In the Arab world (including Iraq) the opposition to American culture is religious, fanatical, and also rigid.

Not surprising given the last 100 years' history of the Arab world against the West.

The American Press has already surrendered to the White House Briefing school of journalism. Keep the questions easy, and ya get to ask another. Never never call the Prez on his stupid lies, and do not check the facts. Harrumph.

So, the situation now is an unwinnable war for Junior. He has a motivated, fanatical enemy who is quite willing to spend one soldier for several foreign invader deaths. A situation where the US will not be able to continue to support that loss ratio for each suicide bomber, especially where the location of the suicide bombers' activity can be world wide. Hmmm. There is no shortage of motivated bombers either.

If he keeps on Junior will lose political control at home. If he withdraws - the same thing happens, so what to do?

I do not have an answer, but the times in history where religious fanatics faced off have lead to terrible slaughter in the long run. Look at the religious wars surrounding the Protestant separation from the Catholic Church.

Decades of slaughter in the name of ideas.

And five hundred years before that - the crusades in Arabia leading to death and destruction everywhere, including the Cathar crusade. An effort to stamp out a heresy that lead people in the Aude to leave the Catholic fold.

Over a century of slaughtering Cathars, burnings at the stake. And what brought that one to an end? The invention of the Inquisition, which identified and eventually exterminated every single Cathar.

And then on the Spain for more heretic hunting.

Folks, there has got to be a better way.

Dialogue?