Hi Billy, On Jul 7, 2014, at 6:05 AM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote:
> Maliki ascendant > By the closing months of 2008, successfully negotiating the terms for > America's continued commitment to Iraq became a top White House imperative. > But desperation to seal a deal before Bush left office, along with the > collapse of the world economy, weakened our hand. > > In an ascendant position, Maliki and his aides demanded everything in > exchange for virtually nothing. They cajoled the United States into a bad > deal that granted Iraq continued support while giving America little more > than the privilege of pouring more resources into a bottomless pit. In > retrospect, I imagine the sight of American officials pleading with him only > fed Maliki's ego further. After organizing Bush's final trip to Iraq -- where > he was attacked with a pair of shoes at Maliki's news conference celebrating > the signing of the bilateral agreements -- I left Baghdad with Crocker on > Feb. 13, 2009. After more than 2,000 days of service, I was ill, depleted > physically and mentally, but hopeful that America's enormous sacrifices might > have produced a positive outcome. > > Brilliant (if heartbreaking) analysis. This is a harsh truth we've learned (but still rarely apply) in software. You can optimize for quality, features, or schedule. Pick one. America chose schedule. And we're paying the price. But before we judge to harshly, it is worth considering the cost of the alternative. It would require us (and our leaders to): a) Clearly articulate the features we care about b) Make open-ended commitments of time and money in order to ensure quality and perhaps more importantly. c) Build a base of competence, integrity, and transparency so that people actually trust us to follow through It is easy to harp on (a) and (b). But the real tragedy is that pretty much NOBODY in American politics today seems to be working on (c). Given that, tragedy seems more or less inevitable. And continual. :'-( -- Ernie P. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
