Myth 1. It's a dangerous world. We face an array of serious national security threats that require an experienced Commander in Chief.
Myth 2. The surge has worked. To withdraw from Iraq now would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and embolden Islamic extremists.
Myth 3. We cannot allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists. We therefore must redouble our military efforts there or face another terrorist attack.
Myth 4. Iran is responsible for much of the violence against US forces in Iraq; by using its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza, it threatens to dominate the Middle East.
Myth 5. To talk to the leaders of "rogue" states like Iran and Cuba without conditions legitimizes their position and weakens American leverage.
Myth 6. Vladimir Putin's Russia is an authoritarian state pursuing an anti-American agenda aimed at reconstituting the Soviet Union in the form of a new Russian empire.
Myth 7. Because the American military is stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must increase the size of our conventional armed forces.
Myth 8. A League of Democracies would create a global coalition for peace and freedom and would enable the United States and its democratic allies to intervene to solve humanitarian and other crises when the UN Security Council is paralyzed.
Myth 9. Globalization has strengthened the economy, and we cannot avoid it by hiding behind protectionist walls.
Myth 10. The world needs American leadership.
Read the entire article at this link.
The Nation
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5 comments:
myths are all around us.
True...but did you read the article?
Good article. The media needs to stop perpetuating these myths. It would help if they would get off their rear ends and do some research, and check their sources.
True...very true, Betty.
THE SURGE MYTH!
There is a victory chant going on nowadays in American Politics: “We are winning! We are winning in Iraq!” But are we really winning? Whenever I played chess, I used to hear this kind of premature euphoria often. Many folks do not understand the complexity of chess openings and middle game positions. Any chess position is usually very complicated, and can generate millions of combinations. Anything could happen anytime! Each move can change the whole position drastically. Before anyone can claim victory, one has to wait till all the capabilities of the opponent are totally destroyed in the end game. Even then, some “die hard” players could give a good fight and pull a spectacular “check mate” surprise!
Iraq war has entered the middle game phase after the surge. Millions of combinations of moves could change the political landscape of Iraq over night. Only a fool would say that we are winning at this juncture! The Iraqis are not playing chess anymore with us, but a game of Othello. Those Sunnis, Shites, and the Kurds may be our friends today, but tomorrow, they may switch sides! Everything is very fluid and constantly changing, as we speak. The surge just made the enemies retrieve in certain areas, and has produced a spatial advantage. But if US is not careful, that very spatial advantage could turn out as a weak, over extended position. Surge was only one tactical move out of many moves, and its effect cannot be measured until the war stops completely.
Before surge, all the Iraqi leaders were very vulnerable, and they were listening. Had the US delayed the “surge” little bit, and played the chicken game of “US troop pull out” to bring the needed political reconciliation, the Iraqis may have been forced to come for a political agreement. But now that opportunity seems to be eluding. The surge actually dissuaded various political parties from coming together. History will tell us clearly at the end of Iraq war, if the surge worked or not. Until then we must hold our breathe and wait.
But history had already taught us about another kind of surge in American economy. Greenspan used a series of interest rate cuts to stimulate the economy. It appeared as though Bush/Greenspan economic “surge plan” was winning for five years. But now everyone is finding out the hard way that the economic surge of drastic interest cut was a bad move! Time will tell us all if Iraq surge worked or not.
It is ridiculous to claim “mission accomplished” or making statements like “we are winning”. Right now, US is entering the middle game in Iraq. There will be full of surprises. One should wait until US soldiers return home, and the war is wrapped up. Then it may be time to look back and evaluate the effectiveness of Iraq surge. But the politicians will not wait. The victory chant will go on for those who cannot think clearly.
DRIsrael3@gmail.com
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