Word: defeatism
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...badly damaged both Iraq and itself, and it is time to bring the troops home. Military powers can no longer invade and successfully occupy other countries. Readily available explosives, lethal light arms and portable rockets can give any group of determined insurgents and suicide bombers the tools to defeat a foreign army, no matter how militarily superior it may be. If we want to change the world for the better, we must lead by example and by helping, not by bullying with our armed forces. John Hilberry New York City...
...only slightly longer than their fire. When a President declares war, he should have the courage to fight it. Bush's cowardly refusal to reinstate the draft and put more boots on the ground has thrown Iraq into a civil war. I pray Gates has the courage to admit defeat and bring our troops home. Helen Tackett Fullerton, California...
...Arab nationalism, a secular ideology of pan-Arab unity and independence. Originating with the Arab Revolt against Ottoman domination of the Middle East nearly a century ago, the ideology took on a militant edge following Arab independence after World War II. Partly as a reaction to Israel's defeat of the Arabs in the 1948 war, Arab nationalism promoted militaristic societies led by warrior leaders who espoused dreams of victory and grandeur. The tragic result has been decades of tyranny, conflict and stagnation for millions of Arabs rather than the blossoming of an Arab renaissance. Egypt's Gamal Abdul Nasser...
...fighting a eight-year war to curb Iran's Islamic Revolution. Many countries - including the U.S. - supported Saddam as a bulwark against Islamic fundamentalism, which they deemed a greater long-term political threat to Western interests than Arab nationalism. But Saddam followed Nasser in blundering his way to defeat, starting with his invasion of Kuwait...
...enormous military force of the U.S. has been at its most effective when it hasn't been fighting - for instance as a deterrent threat that helped keep the peace during the cold war. With one exception, when it has gone into combat, it has sooner or later retreated in defeat and left behind a mess to be cleaned up later. This happened in Vietnam in the '70s, Lebanon in the '80s and Somalia in the '90s. The exception was the liberation of Kuwait, but this achievement was devalued by President Bush Jr., who clearly regarded the situation in the area...