Now, is/was GWB “gutless”? I’ll disagree with that. I don’t think his mistakes were problems related to having no guts. In fact, I think his instinct carried him well in the beginning. At some point he went off the rails, IMO, and started listening to Rice and Powell. There lies his gravest error.

Raynman, I don’t know your age. Since I think you are a retired tank commander from some comment, you could be older. Then again, a family friend is currently a tank commander and he was 13 when 9/11 occurred. Too young to remember the circumstance surrounding Iraq previous to 9/11 except through history. If you are younger, you might not realize the sentiment against Iraq that hung in the air before 9/11.

Racist!

sexist, too…

So, home run, right?

In other news, when you correlate crime with the black race the correlation is very high, it’s even better when correlated to single mother parentage. Meaning, it ain’t your color that makes you criminal, it’s your upbringing.

The second is guilt: it was the overexposure of fame (and that the media just couldn’t leave her alone after her talents were withdrawn from view) that contributed to her death.

Nope. Sorry. Not buying that. There is nothing intrinsic to celebrityhood that requires suicidal personal choices. I know some celebs personally, and know of others who are perfectly normal, healthy folks (with big egos, sure – I have that problem myself) living enjoyable lives.

For another thing, the media who overexpose the process of her death and burial have two guiding principles. One, laziness – the story writes itself, the content is free and easy to obtain, and the interviews and photos are cheap. 90% of what the media covers is driven by how easy it is to obtain: police reports, deaths, jury trials, marketing departments feeding them content. The more work it takes, the less it’s “newsworthy”. This axiom easily explains why a topic is not covered, and most of what’s covered incorrectly. I have to admit partial blame here in that I love what PJMedia does, but I haven’t subscribed yet.

The second is guilt: it was the overexposure of fame (and that the media just couldn’t leave her alone after her talents were withdrawn from view) that contributed to her death. The media are atoning for that sin by feigning respect for a person who had talent, but paid for it with her soul. Celebrity does have a price, and the media that “gave it to you” (implying you didn’t earn it) will not let you pass without paying it.

You’re conflating two separate and distinct issues.

I said, “GWB didn’t have the guts.”

This is conflating issues?

The word “guts” is an appropriate and normal word to use when talking about leading a free people. Bush didn’t do it. He went when the nation was in a mood (sorry) for war. He lagged the nation’s mood when it came to going into Iraq, losing much of the initial fervor waiting for the French and Germans and other international forces to say it was OK for a nation under attack to defend itself. And when the nation’s mood (sorry) had gone to Hell, that was the end of the defensive war for George. He’d had enough, and so we now have Iran within months of becoming a nuclear power.

“GWB did a terrible job of leading the narrative”

The “narrative”? You think what a good political leader does is spin a narrative? That’s what Winston Churchill did when France had fallen and most people thought it was over?

Then you scare quote my word “mood”, as if “mood of the nation” is not an apt concept in the politics of war? What on Earth is wrong with the word “mood” now?

Same with Iraq. Behead the Hussein al-Tikriti regime, then let the survivors figure out what sort of country they want this time – because in the end, they’re going to do so anyhow. Remind them that this was the price of the attempt to annex Kuwait, suggest that they not do that sort of thing in the future, and let them have their country back.

Nation-building is a load of crap. The supposed “successes” in Japan and Germany are mirages. We had all the Axis powers prostrate under our boots, and treaties signed under duress are worthless. We convinced them all that they’d get a better deal signing up for our New World Order than they would from the Soviets or by continuing to try to be militaristic imperial hegemons. They played along because it was the least worst option they had. It’s worked out pretty well for them, so they’ve kept playing along ever since.

You don’t change the nature of a man, or a nation, by force. All you can do is knock off the current top dogs and remove their system of control and advantage.

I’m sure as a career military man you’ll come up with many govvie approved reasons for how we conducted military policy these past sixty years. I’ll listen, but critically. So far Codevilla sounds pretty good as far as the last 30 yrs is involved. Refute directly their arguments or at a minimum give me some arguments over how we screwed up 1945 – 1980 until we confronted and defeated the State power (the USSR and to a lesser extent the PRC) that funded and trained the insurgencies and the terrorists who attacked enlightened, republican institutions and nation states for over a century.

Oh, look! A rock candy mountain on the horizon! Flying unicorns live on those, right? Full speed ahead!

Sign up is here: http://www.ttvverify.com/volunteer/?source=TTV if you are interested.