During the Vietnam war, one nameless soldier famously said "we had to destroy the village in order to save it." That phrase became one of the transcedent indicators of the fundamental insanity of that war. But remember, the war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq are completely different:
With a heavy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them.
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Sassaman is the poor sucker who'll have to carry the weight of that utterance into history, but he's hardly alone. The New York Times provides several lines worth remembering.
You have to understand the Arab mind. The only thing they understand is force—force, pride and saving face."
Thanks, Captain Todd Brown.
(support our troops support our troops support our troops)
Posted by slade at January 12, 2004 10:29 AM