So said presidential candidate Howard Dean. And I say "Exactly."
Like Dean, I was against the Iraq war. And like Dean, I feel as long as our troops are there and our country is committed to building a peaceful Iraq, "we cannot afford to fail."
Those who say "we should not have attacked and now that we did, look at all the problems we have brought about" are merely being highly partisan. True we have problems. Let's not merely talk about these problems. Let us all concentrate on how to solve them.
Probably the most outrageous mistake President Bush made was to irritate our friends and allies around the world. Now that we are in trouble in Iraq, they are staying away. Obviously Bush must eat a little humble pie - as he suggested he would when he was campaigning in 2000 - be nice to our allies and ask for help. Knowing how the U.S. mistreated its allies, I don't think this may be enough.
Bush must offer inducements. You know, U.S. businesses - primarily Halliburton - have received contracts in the rebuilding effort. Why does he not offer contracts to French and German companies? Not piddling small subcontracts. Decent big contracts.
In plain language, let's make our allies partners, not servants.
