Wednesday, July 2, 2008

"Fatal Disregard for Political Reality in the Middle East"

Dorothy Wickenden, writing in the June 30, 2008 issue of the New Yorker, used the phrase "fatal disregard for political reality in the Middle East" to describe the actions of the B-Team with regard to the war in Iraq.

As the 2008 Presidential elections draws closer, the same phrase could be used about Sen. McCain. When a United States Senator does not know which countries in the Middle East are predominantly Sunni and which are Shiite, there is a serious disregard for the political reality in the Middle East.

To digress slightly, in the same column, Wickenden provides a quote from Barack Obama from October 2, 2002:

"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rational and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars."

With 50/50 hindsight, it looks like the man who was just a State Senator from my home district in Illinois was able to analyze the situation better than just about anyone else.

And that's why Barack Obama should be elected President of the United States.

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