...and that little chip implanted in his skull by the good folks at PNAC--tinfoil doesn't make the bad feelings go away, but imperial conquest does unleash a wave of endorphins.

http://zeus.zeit.de/text/2005/20/aussenpolitik_englisch

"Germany never knew what Jürgen Kocka calls an 'alliance of war and freedom.' When German soldiers crossed borders they did not do it in the name of freedom. That changed only in 1999, when German soldiers entered Kosovo together with NATO forces. The same holds true in Afghanistan today.

During the last century German soldiers had a history of defeat. In the end, historian Dan Diner notes, 'humiliation came in the shape of freedom, and it spoke English.' Earlier, from 1803 on, it spoke French, but the Germans did not like that either. That they should view themselves as 'liberated' after World War II was a hard sell. And even in 1985, on the occasion of the commemorations of German capitulation, German President Richard von Weizsäcker had a hard time promoting the idea of 'liberation.' To this day, the image of an American soldier risking his life in a foreign land to guarantee someone else's right to vote is irritating to Germans, as could be seen during the Iraqi elections. For Americans, this picture symbolizes the core of their self-image."

THAT, is a long piece, but interesting. FWIW, there are times when I wonder if I'm completely wrong about ol' "W." (Sounds of church bells ringing and hearty hosannahs)

I just don't think the guy has enough understanding of history and ths subtlties of human nature to actually effect the kind of ambitious changes he wants to pull off.

Lao Tzu has some excellent bits about the subtlties of true leadership.

Forgive me:

17. Rulers
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The last despised:
They have no faith in their people,
And their people become unfaithful to them.

When the best rulers achieve their purpose
Their subjects claim the achievement as their own.
--Lao Tzu

So, IMO people don't respond well to having their nose stuck into water and being told to drink. Dub-ya's approach is not that heavy handed but it leans slightly in that direction. Don't forget, for thousands of years our antecedents looked like barbarians before a chance congruence of events led to the miracle that happened in the late 18th century. Should we be surprised that other nations are making the same, slow progress toward their own awakening? And, can that process be hastened? It's a tough one to figure.

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Nobodies yet mentioned the book by Niccolo Machiavelli, THE PRINCE.
now there's food for thought !

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

[QUOTE=narwhal]
You know....fighting with a pit bull is okay, after a little while though, you begin to understand he likes fighting...

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

...I must've skipped out and smoked a doob during indoctrination class the day they embossed the Merkin self-image. Silly me, in my ignorance, I thought soldiers were just supposed to defend the borders and territorial waters.

He's quite a bit at variance with Tzu. For example, he devotes an (excellent!) chapter to the question of whether it is better for a prince to be loved or feared. It is a compelling read.

Maybe the differences between these political theorists are at least partly cultural--that which works in one system might fail in another. And to some degree, both are locked in time.

Yeah....and he was Italian

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

Italians are always at odds with everything adn every one.

Trust me I am an expert on Italians....My wife is from the old country and so is her entire family.


Argueing is part of their genetic code.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I worked in Italy for 3 years....Here's a classic....


Q. What's an innuendo?
A. An Italian suppository.

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

An Italian mother of 5 was asked about the Pope's position on birth control.

She said, "He no play'a da game....he no make'a da rules."

And (displaying my "monkey mind," Buddhist term for the mind that flits from one thought to another on the thinnest of connections...):

Olie vent to see a doctor vunn day. He said, "Doc, ya gotta help me, I got this hor'bull constipation....I just can't take a poop."

The doc examines him and says, "Well, I think it's nothing serious...here, I'm gonna give you these suppositories. I want you to put one of these in your rectum in the morning and one at night and come back and see me in one week."

Olie looks at the bottle quizically and says, "Vell....ho-kay."

He goes out and sees Sven. "Sven, ya gotta help me...what the hell is a vrectum?"

Sven says, "What d'ya wanna know for...lemme see that... Oh, hell, I know what this is, you just swallow these with a glass of water."

Olie looks at the bottle and says, "Vell....ho-kay."

He goes back to the doctor after a week and the doctor asks, "Olie! How'd those suppositories work for you?"

Olie says, "Aw doc, them pills you gave me didn't do a damn bit of good. Hell, for all the good they done me, I could'a just as well stuck 'em in my ass."

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I read one story written by Machiavelli, don't think it was The Prince. It was about a guy who comes to city, espies the fairest damsel ever, and vows to bed her. Turns out, she's married to the Sultan or Amir, or something, and they're having trouble conceiving a child. Our hero manages to portray himself as just the guy who has the special medicine that can overcome the dear ladies infertility.

It's wild. I should find it and read it again.

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K