On 2013-09-04, at 9:13 AM, Eugene Coyle wrote: > It is more than ambition of course. On the radio I heard just a few minutes > of Hagel and then a question or two of Kerry. It seems closer to madness > than ambition. Only madness can explain, to me, their belief (I think they > believe it) that bombing Syria will be good for the Good Ol USA.
It's not madness. Politics and the extension of politics by other means, including violence, almost never is. The Obama administration has made a rational calculation that the US can demonstrate its overwhelming military power and destroy much Syrian heavy weaponry and infrastructure without risking confrontation with Russia and Iran. It's also calculated that the political fallout would be worse if if didn't react, after having unwisely drawn a "red line" on the large-scale use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime (or elements within it). Despite skepticism about the evidence, especially on the left, that appears to have been the case. Of course, rational calculation can't account for unintended consequences and outcomes are never certain. In retrospect, this can make failed historical acts look like "madness". > On Sep 4, 2013, at 5:37 AM, michael yates wrote: > >> Some time ago, this list was assailed with arguments that we should support >> Hagel as Secretary of Defense. I watched Hagel and Kerry urge Congress to >> approve bombing Syria. A real voice of reason that Hagel! Then newscasters >> seldom miss an opportunity to mention that these two know the horrors of >> war. Not as well as they know their own ambitions. People use their military >> experiences (euphemism for killing) to push their political careers. Once in >> power, they are more than happy to approve still more killing. Only for >> those who deserve to die, of course. >> _______________________________________________ >> pen-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
