What comes next is anybody's guess. Most likely, the final repudiation of the "Bush doctrine" of trying to foster democracy in the Middle East.
The region is home to several toxic cultures which the world, and their own members, would be better off without. Conservatives take note, you will seldom go wrong by assuming people will do their worst. W. thought otherwise, he was wrong.
In Ch. XVII of The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli wrote:
A question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.My takeaway: nation building is nonsense, nothing the military should waste time on. If malefactors need punishing, do it with a heavy hand and leave with the promise that, if we have to return, the second visit will be much deadlier.
