Diplomatic Density

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I read a number of writers on the left regularly because I believe the best way to understand your own position is to test it against the ideas of the smartest folks who disagree with you. One of them is Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly, who is a member of the reasonable left. The problem I have is that even his ideas about foreign policy are dangerously weak. The left has gone from their natural distrust and dislike of military action, to the firm conviction that it is completely ineffective. They have an unwarranted belief that diplomacy is the solution to the many dangers in our world and if we just would sit down and talk with the Mullahs and Kim Jong-Il we could find some common ground. Back to Von Clausewitz 101, war is diplomacy continued by other means, but without the threat of violence and a belief by the other party that you will actually hurt them, diplomacy is useless. Let’s watch Mr. Drum paint himself into a corner.

But no American president can or should tolerate the Iranian regime’s acquisition of nuclear weaponry. And negotiating with theo-fascists is a mug’s game. Their God does not negotiate. And they are nothing if not faithful to their God.

Nice opening and it shows that he understands who we are dealing with.

For conservatives, liberals, and everyone in between, Iran is really the crucial touchstone. It’s one thing to say, in retrospect, that the Iraq war was wrong, and then to suggest that you’ve learned your lesson and now believe that there are more effective ways of fighting jihadism than bluster and invasion. But the rubber hits the road when you get down to cases. If you’ve learned your lesson, then why not apply those lessons to Iran?

Iraq was only about jihadism in that we aimed to stop state sponsors of terror from operating freely. Sadaam was a problem because he had used WMDs and would not prove he had gotten rid of them.

The rest of an object lesson on diplomacy and force

---

Mission: To protect and promote the reputation and dignity of America's Warriors.
Join us!

Comments

Diplomatic Density

I read a number of writers on the left regularly because I believe the best way to understand your own position is to test it against the ideas of the smartest folks who disagree with you. One of them is Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly, who is a member of the reasonable left. The problem I have is that even his ideas about foreign policy are dangerously weak. The left has gone from their natural distrust and dislike of military action, to the firm conviction that it is completely ineffective. They have an unwarranted belief that diplomacy is the solution to the many dangers in our world and if we just would sit down and talk with the Mullahs and Kim Jong-Il we could find some common ground. Back to Von Clausewitz 101, war is diplomacy continued by other means, but without the threat of violence and a belief by the other party that you will actually hurt them, diplomacy is useless. Let’s watch Mr. Drum paint himself into a corner.

But no American president can or should tolerate the Iranian regime’s acquisition of nuclear weaponry. And negotiating with theo-fascists is a mug’s game. Their God does not negotiate. And they are nothing if not faithful to their God.

Nice opening and it shows that he understands who we are dealing with.

For conservatives, liberals, and everyone in between, Iran is really the crucial touchstone. It’s one thing to say, in retrospect, that the Iraq war was wrong, and then to suggest that you’ve learned your lesson and now believe that there are more effective ways of fighting jihadism than bluster and invasion. But the rubber hits the road when you get down to cases. If you’ve learned your lesson, then why not apply those lessons to Iran?

Iraq was only about jihadism in that we aimed to stop state sponsors of terror from operating freely. Sadaam was a problem because he had used WMDs and would not prove he had gotten rid of them.

The rest of an object lesson on diplomacy and force

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfadb53ef00d834e46bb569e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Diplomatic Density: