Letters to the Editor
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Funny thing about Korea and Germany
The US proposed radically cutting back our military presence in both of those countries and the local uproar quite interesting. In Korea - actually it was the Koreans who proposed it. Then they suddenly realized that the US backfills the RoK's defense to the tune of approx. 50% of their total defense budget. So that plan went nowhere. And in Germany the local and regional governments suddenly realized that the US contributes more than 19 billion dollars a year to the local economies. So they successfully lobbied their own Federal government to keep the US troops in Germany. You have to go back to the 80's and the Philippines to see an instance where a country successfully transitioned from a US military presence. It's in truth quite hard to pull off. So once you have established an extensive presence somewhere it's for the most part permanent.
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non-parallels
The enemy in Germany had surrendered in 1945, after just a few years of active U.S. military involvement. We've been in Iraq 5 years now, and it seems we're not even sure who the enemy is. We certainly haven't defined what a victory, ala Germany 1945, would look like.
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Um
Now, I'm about as liberal as it gets, and of course I want a Democrat (any Democrat) in the oval office a year from now. But let's be fair. If you look at what McCain ACTUALLY said, it's not particularly damning. He didn't say we should be fighting in Iraq for 100 years. He said we should have a "presence" similar to what we have in Korea. That isn't what he "meant." It's what he said. Look at it. Go ahead. I don't particularly agree with what he said, but it's not that outrageous of a thing to say.
When we libs make bad, unsubstantiated arguments against our foes, it reflects badly on us. It's not as if there aren't plenty of legitimate angles for attacking McCain. This just isn't one of them. C'mon, folks. Get with it.
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More non-parallels (or, "Unparalleled")
Please, enough with the comparisons to Germanyt and Japan. Both countries were modernized industrial nations with strong central institutions before falling into militaristic dictatorship in the 1930s. Germany had a Reichstag with oppositions parties, modern coeducational schools and strong communications and transporation infrastructure. Japan had its Diet as a legislative body before thuggery by members of the active military propelled int into dictatorship and war.
Compare that to Iraq, a country whose traditions of governance are pretty much limited to "I shoot you, Sunni dog!" and "Bah, I kill you first, Shiite!" Suddenly the comparison just doesn't look that hopeful.
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Abbeywood
Where's the clip...I'd love to see it! Do share.
I find McCain scary too. I think he's not all there. And worse: he doesn't realize it!
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Missing the point
The comments McCain made about being in Iraq for 100 years are not "devastating" to those who take them in context.
We have been in Germany for over 70 years in North Korea for over 50 years. We will always have a lasting military presence over seas unless we elect Ron Paul president or something along those lines. The point McCain is making is that we pacify Iraq, like we pacified Germany, and keep a long term peactime presence in Iraq to make sure things don't go astray again. It's actually a sound and practical idea, not devastating at all. And of the 3 candidates currently running I think McCain stands the best chance of pacifying Iraq sooner rather than later. The 100 year comment has no negative impact on my impression of his candidacy at all, being that I understand it.
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Republicans are not "worried." Just determined to aggressively counter-attack on the Democrats' fumbling attempts to mischaracterize.
How many tmies have Keith Olbermann, Katrina Vanden Heuvel and others of their ilk tried to make a joke out of "100 years of war", when McCain said no such thing?
This is just insisting on good journalistic hygeine. Even now, Salon and Steve Benen are backing down, as they should, as they had to, talking now about years of "U.S. troop presence in Iraq," (like Japan, Germany and South Korea) and not "100 years of war."
I think this stupid little episode has been a triumph of Republican push-back. We've succeeded in forcing a retreat by the Olbermanns of the world, and every time this story comes up, we are successfully turning the story into a headline about Democrats' crass mischaracterization of McCain's sound judgment.
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What problem?
Who said McCain is going to last until the convention?
Paging Mitt Romney!
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Elephant in the Room
The thing about McCain's comment and the reaction of those who aren't bothered by it is its blithe acceptance of American Empire.
From the US Military Command website:
"U.S. European Command, in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, is responsible for 13 million square miles in 89 countries and territories. This area of responsibility begins at the North Cape of Norway and extends through the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, through most of Europe and parts of the Middle East, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The Command's mission is to support and advance US interests and policies throughout the region and to provide combat ready land, maritime, and air forces to Allied Command Europe or to US Unified Commands."
The arrogance and/or ignorance with which the American public lives with its "white man's burden" is really stunning. Perhaps McCain has done us all a favor by raising the cost, the wisdom, and the desirability of maintaining this Pax Americana indefinitely.
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He said it before
but didn't mean it after?
This guy takes flip-flopping to a radical new extreme.
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Fortunately, for McCain...
...his base (the "press") won't be making much of this.
And it's amazing how much bullshit (yeah, Iraq is just like Germany and Japan and Korea) has been internalized by intellectually dishonest people. And, repeated here. Ad nauseam...
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I heard St Lord JesObama yesterday once again call for a wind down of troops
But he's not really saying how long that should take or when it should start. I suspect when The Chosen One is anointed we will suddenly hear a lot of fumfummery on how it's really not an opportune time to ditch and bail. This will of course cause all of you to defend that in terms of "Nation Building". I for one think we should ditch and bail ASAP. Just leave it and let them sort it out do whatever they wish with it. Parts of central Africa have been at war for 20 years claiming upwards of 5 million lives and you don't hear anyone worrying about we westerners rushing over to sort that out. Some problems are unmanageable.