Joecities

Every now and then you come across a link that you HAVE to click. This morning it was this one for me - Bush: Terrorists converging on Iraq, US must stay.

Funny that it doesn't seem to occur to him that the reason why the terrorists are converging on Iraq in the first place, is because the US is there.

"The stakes in Iraq could not be higher. The brutal violence in Iraq today is a clear sign of the terrorists' determination to stop democracy from taking root in the Middle East," Bush said.

If I recall, the 'brutal violence' began the day the bombs started raining in baghdad despite weapons inspectors clearing it of WMDs.

I remember a class in negotiations where we learnt about escalation and after the dust has settled, in hindsight, it was never a good idea to start, let alone continue.

I suspect that many Americans are well aware that it can only get worse, leading to responses such as Evangelist Pat Robertson's (now retracted) call for an assasination. In it, he essentially weighs the cost of 'ending the game now' vs a protracted battle.

Here's a good story about escalation.

Came across an interesting mention in Marginal Revolution about how soldiers in World War I declared 'unofficial truces' where they walked around in plain view of the enemy without getting shot. They managed this through signals and also the realisation that whatever aggressive action they took was retaliated upon - similar to Israel vs Palestine.

Wonder if it would be possible for the US to entice non-aggressive behaviour. Their current strategy of helping the Iraqis build up their constitution and resources seems akin to a greek fisherman providing consulting for astronauts on how to moonwalk.