I've been at loggerheads with a few of y'all and also with myself over the War In Iraq.

I believed the U.S. Administration regarding their confidence in the existence of WMDs. Iraq had been pursuing nuclear weapons in the 80's, so why not now. I believe (and have said elsewhere) that Tony Blair has an eloquence that 'W' lacks in explaining why it was right to be in Iraq anyway.

I like to come up with parallel points in history and see if by studying them I can come up with illumination on the present. I have a couple, one from Roman History, and one from Holy Scripture.

Rome in her Republican years experienced a major contest against an exceptional military leader, Hannibal of Carthage. The chronicles of the African Wars (called "Hannibalic" or "Punic" and mostly told by the Roman historian Livy) are well worth reading. Triggered apparently by trading competition, Rome attempted to levy restrictions on Carthage, and Carthage through Hannibal and his brothers and an amalgam of allies, invaded the Italian Peninsula over the Alps, not once, but twice. Rome came very close to defeat. The ultimate Roman victory came through two main avenues, the first being to recover and adapt militarily, the second being an extensive political campaign to separate Carthage from her allies by pleading the Roman cause. This was masterfully done by Scipio, who devoted as much or more time according to the history in diplomacy as in battle preparation.

My conclusion from this is that even though, in my opinion, the Iraq War was justified, the grounds for the war were inadequately laid and have yet to be shored up by the American Administration. This has contributed in the Allied lack of success in gaining cooperation from Europe as well as a failure to "win hearts and minds" which I think were ready and waiting to be won.

My second source is from Genesis 37, The Rape Of Dinah. Once you hear this story, it is not to be forgotten. There is a recent version "Genesis"(1999) re-telling the story from an African tribal perspective. In this section of Jacob's wanderings, a chieftain's son captures Jacob's daughter Dinah, then later tries to 'make it legal' to preserve the peace. In the guise of cooperation, two of Jacob's sons take a terrible revenge on the entire town. The end of the chapter shows Jacob at odds with his sons: "You have made my name stink in the land" he tells them. They insist that they were in pursuit of the family honor.

I see a similarity between this episode in Scripture and current world events. The United States has a perception of its stake in this drama more similar to its extreme opponents than the rest of the world. Much of the world sees us as to say the least over-reacting, while we see the world as not joining us in a moral no-brainer.

I'm all for Allied victory. I think victory was possible and was worth pursuing. But I'm doubtful if our leadership has the ability to achieve it the way it must be achieved. I think the reason is they have been hampered by their own ideology, and I am NOT placing this on a religious basis, I am referring to a simple unawareness of how the world has been changing and the larger human forces at work in shaping the world today. I think 'W' has been trying to do the right thing as he sees it, and I think he is not actually stupid. But I think he is lacking in perception, and is not well educated, and his advisers are not much better. I think his failure to see around corners has already cost us the good will of much of the world, and is accelerating the decline of American influence.

I did a web search, and I've talked to some of my bible-aware co-workers, and I haven't seen anyone else making the linkage I have above. I'm interested in whether anyone sees what I see in that bit of Scripture.

I'm taking a two day break from Mudcat while I pursue urgent family affairs. I have really learned a lot here, from everyone.