Agreeing With Condi – Moon of Alabama

November 18, 2006

Agreeing With Condi

For the record: I do agree with the U.S. Secreatry of State on this:

"The Iraqis, if they do make good decisions, like Vietnam has made good decisions, if they will take tough decisions," and the world supports them, "they can and will have a better chance," Rice said.
Rice: Iraqis Must Face Up to Differences

A bit of history for why I agree:

[A]s commander of the assault on Dien Bien Phu, Giap faced a difficult decision. Should he follow a strategy of "swift attack, swift victory," in which his troops would make a lightning charge into the heart of the enemy defenses? Or go for a "steady attack, steady advance" strategy, in which his troops would patiently and methodically grind down the French defenders? Both options carried serious risks. After much agonized deliberation, Giap chose the "steady attack, steady advance" plan and fought on to victory. This decision remains one of the most significant of the entire conflict, for had Giap chosen the lightning strike option, the French might well have defeated his attack.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu: A Vietnamese Perspective

So if the Iraqis choose a "steady attack, steady advance" strategy, Ms. Rice predicts they will have a "better chance."

I guess the Iraqis have already noticed that a while ago.

Posted by b on November 18, 2006 at 19:41 UTC | Permalink

Comments

One assumes that the Vietnamese decision that Condi praises is the Communist Party allowing Western business to exploit Vietnamese workers. Obviously those ungrateful Iraqis didn’t realize the grand gift of privatization that the CPA gave to Iraq. Instead, Iraqis reverted to their Muslim faith and resisted the foreign occupation.

Posted by: Jim S | Nov 18 2006 21:49 utc | 1

Well, history may yet prove Condi right. After all, it was the “bad guys” that won in Vietnam. And then they became the “good guys”.
Maybe the terrists in Baghdad are’nt totally irredeemable. According to Condi, they might turn out to be “good guys” after all.

Posted by: jony_b_cool | Nov 18 2006 22:47 utc | 2

Read “and the world supports them” as “and the U.S. accepts their decision”.

Posted by: Pyrrho | Nov 19 2006 0:39 utc | 3

Typically the Bush perspective on Vietnam and Iraq is wrapped in contradictions. On the one hand Bush is saying (in refrence to Iraq) that we could have won in Vietnam if we had’nt quit. But then follows with how other nations (Iraq) would be well advised to follow in Vietnams example. Bush appears to like what Vietnam has become, that it is a nation we can do business with and would like other nations to take heed as progress in the “march toward freedom”. The problem of course is that if we were to follow Bush’s example of not “quitting” we would no doubt still be in Vietnam, as we are likely to meet the same endless fate in Iraq. And if we had’nt “quit” Vietnam when we did, Vietnam would’nt be where it is now. Furthermore, if we never gone into Vietnam in the first place, whats happening in Vietnam now may have happened ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. What a duface.

Posted by: anna missed | Nov 19 2006 4:07 utc | 4

opps!
As Bush Goes To Vietnam, White House Displays The Wrong Flag
Today, President Bush visits Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, “looking to burnish his foreign-policy credentials.” He’s off to a miserable start.
Yesterday, the White House website featured a graphic with the flags of the three countries he’s visiting on his trip — Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. One problem: instead of displaying the Vietnamese flag, the White House graphic featured the old flag of South Vietnam. That flag hasn’t been the official flag of Vietnam since South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam in 1975.
The display of the old flag is highly incendiary to the current Vietnamese government. NPR reported last year the display of the old flag anywhere in the United States — much less on the White House website — “could create tension amid warming relations between the United States and Vietnam.”

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Nov 19 2006 7:17 utc | 5

Uh-oh, I was afraid it might come to this. No argument is safe in the face of the dreaded Chewbacca Defense (modern successor to the Tale of a Tub). Watch for opponents of the administration to self-destruct in paroxysms of ersatz reasoning, as they try to figure out what in the hell the President and the Secretary of State could possibly mean by this nonsense.

Posted by: Jassalasca Jape | Nov 19 2006 7:17 utc | 6

This is OT, but thought we shouldn’t forget Condo’s abilities at cooking up international fun! So here’s a page from the famous Condi Cookbook for all you aspiring post-imperialists!
Her most famous recipe so far was revealed at the 9-11 Committee hearings: The slightly brittle Integrity Pie, which should not be impugned, and whose ingredients are classified or unclear.
Here’s a recipe that will live in our hearts and minds long after Condo has gone back to work for the oil industry:
IRAQ/IRAN-READY-TO-CONMSUME!
_____________________________
Conventional Oven Instructions:
To bake Iraq/Iran-Ready-To-Consume! using standard convection and blast effect technology, sprinkle with GBU-20-b’s, Aerosol Explosive Devices, and standard napalm.
Drain off oil until dry. This may take ten or more years.
Due to continuing insurgency, repeat cooking until crispy; skin may retain meat shape due to cooking method.
_____________________________
Microwave Oven Instructions:
To use Iraq/Iran-Ready-To-Consume! with microwave or radiology tools, light up Iraq with air and ground-based radar and RTF equipment, 24-7. Use multiple, depleted-uranium Sabot/AP rounds against targets of any size whenever possible.
Drain oil as in conventional method. Irradiate until golden-brown to black and meat falls off in chunks due to skin failure.
For Iran, use of the Perle-Rumsfeld method (with Cheney adapter unit) may allow theatre-wide use of low-yield tactical nuclear munitions to increase cooking times in the near future.
_____________________________
Serves the entire western oil-consuming world.

Posted by: Austin Cooper | Nov 19 2006 21:41 utc | 7

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