And it's one two three...
Mar. 25th, 2003 12:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holzman_tweedIf the men with the power can't keep it under control
Some heads are gonna roll
So the war's under way, and the American public have just remembered that occasionally war means your own soldiers get killed or taken prisoner. Let's hope for the prisoners' safe return, whenever this is over. But let's also recall that it might be difficult to get complaints about how they are treated taken seriously when we routinely ignore the Geneva Conventions at Camp X-Ray.
We told you so. We told you playing games like that would wind up biting us in the ass, aside from being immoral in its own right. Did the Iraqis have some dirty tricks up their sleeves? Think about it: if the U.S. was invaded, would you turn any trick down to repel it?
And what's this? Turkey has sent troops into Iraq to contain the Kurds. Or are they just on the border, preventing refugees from entering? It's hard to be sure, I've heard both today. Fog of war and all that.
And from the other side of the country? Was that Iranian fire on UK positions? Might that be a prelude?
We told you so. We told you that you were fucking with a complex political situation without moving beyond "Step one: we invade; Step two: a miracle happens; Step three: friendly democracy!"
And are the Iraqis shooting at us with weapons marked in Russian? Are they better armed than you thought they would be? Are they not using the obliging tactics you'd hoped they'd use?
We told you so. We told you that war is neither swift nor sure. Winston Churchill told you, too. So did Sun Tsu, had you but listened to him.
Did I hear someone say we could bring this in for a mere $20 Billion? Never mind what we could have gotten with that money instead, it wasn't enough to cover the first week, by a factor of four. Where's all this money coming from? Not Iraq's oil, that belongs to Iraq. For that matter, that's not what will pay to rebuild Iraq -- under International War, as the aggressor we get to foot that tab, as well as the costs of administering the occupation.
We told you so.
Might the Syrians be biding their time? And what about the North Koreans? Might they think this a good time to press South? Worse, might China decide this would be a good time to bring Taiwan back into its fold? Did I hear that Al Qaida is regrouping in Pakistan? How bad would it be if a coup replaces Musharraf, taking possession of his nukes?
We told you so. This is how World Wars start, and we can't afford to have another one of those.
Some heads are gonna roll
So the war's under way, and the American public have just remembered that occasionally war means your own soldiers get killed or taken prisoner. Let's hope for the prisoners' safe return, whenever this is over. But let's also recall that it might be difficult to get complaints about how they are treated taken seriously when we routinely ignore the Geneva Conventions at Camp X-Ray.
We told you so. We told you playing games like that would wind up biting us in the ass, aside from being immoral in its own right. Did the Iraqis have some dirty tricks up their sleeves? Think about it: if the U.S. was invaded, would you turn any trick down to repel it?
And what's this? Turkey has sent troops into Iraq to contain the Kurds. Or are they just on the border, preventing refugees from entering? It's hard to be sure, I've heard both today. Fog of war and all that.
And from the other side of the country? Was that Iranian fire on UK positions? Might that be a prelude?
We told you so. We told you that you were fucking with a complex political situation without moving beyond "Step one: we invade; Step two: a miracle happens; Step three: friendly democracy!"
And are the Iraqis shooting at us with weapons marked in Russian? Are they better armed than you thought they would be? Are they not using the obliging tactics you'd hoped they'd use?
We told you so. We told you that war is neither swift nor sure. Winston Churchill told you, too. So did Sun Tsu, had you but listened to him.
Did I hear someone say we could bring this in for a mere $20 Billion? Never mind what we could have gotten with that money instead, it wasn't enough to cover the first week, by a factor of four. Where's all this money coming from? Not Iraq's oil, that belongs to Iraq. For that matter, that's not what will pay to rebuild Iraq -- under International War, as the aggressor we get to foot that tab, as well as the costs of administering the occupation.
We told you so.
Might the Syrians be biding their time? And what about the North Koreans? Might they think this a good time to press South? Worse, might China decide this would be a good time to bring Taiwan back into its fold? Did I hear that Al Qaida is regrouping in Pakistan? How bad would it be if a coup replaces Musharraf, taking possession of his nukes?
We told you so. This is how World Wars start, and we can't afford to have another one of those.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-25 12:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-25 05:35 am (UTC)You will also note that his favorite game is to promise you anything and then twist the promise around to what it is he wanted to do anyway.
"We want regime change. OK, we'll settle for disarmament. We're going to disarm him by changing his regime."
"Our economy is strong and that's the right time for a tax cut. [Market tanks] Our economy is weak and that's the right time for a tax cut."
And so on.
Funny.
Date: 2003-03-25 10:31 am (UTC)These people's families don't know if they're alive or dead.
Re: Funny.
Date: 2003-03-25 07:46 pm (UTC)Re: Funny.
Date: 2003-03-26 07:20 am (UTC)And yes, we did tell them so. It's not our fault they chose to ignore us.