One of the most interesting and refreshing writers I have come across recently on the blog-o-sphere is David Brin. In his most recent posting he comes up with a briliant strategy to counteract the constant stream of Republican bile that...
Mr. Brin is a much acclaimed and award winning science fiction writer and scientist. His political writings on his blog triumph the ongoing experiment that was the enlightenment - the real meaning of liberalism - and how that is being attacked by extremists of both Right and Left. Not really a "libertarian" point of view, he seems to hew pretty close to the classical liberal tradition.
That being said he is of course not fond of the current Administration's policies and actions, realizing that there not just an attack on the AMerican Liberal Left, but an undermining and erosion of the very grand Enlightenment Classical Liberal ideas that underlay and gird our nations governmental infrastructure.
In his recent posting on Friday, June 24th he writes:
"I think liberals make a terrible mistake by expressing their objections to this war in leftist or pacifist terms. These is nonsensical, since two of our most successful wars were planned by Clinton-Clarke... The Balkans and Afghanistan interventions, which succeeded far better than anyone could have reasonably expected.
Until the World is Better, we are still in an era when some application of imperial power is a reasonable last resort... if it is done in the mature, responsible, adult, judicious and prudent fashion laid down by George Marshall, paying heed to alliances, costs, success criteria, exit strategy, securing readiness and mindful of winning the long range civilization struggle over hearts and minds..
For example, we don't accomplish anything by deprecating the military in general or suggesting that Iraqis were better off under Saddam! Instead, focus your attacks on:
- hypocrisy, these are the same guys who fostered Saddam. Kissed him. Egged him on and supplied him against Iran.
- hypocrisy. these are the same guys who had him in their hands, in 1991. Gen Schwarskopf begged for 12 more hours to rescue the people of Basra, who were being slaughtered, having rebelled AT OUR URGING. (Bush Sr. said " "We're on the way!")
Instead (at Saudfamily orders) they consigned those people to 12 more YEARS of living hell. And now we expect love & kisses? (This is one of the worst stains on American honor in 200 years. Rent the movie THREE KINGS.)
- The obscenely stupid and unprofessional WAY this war was and is being fought. Rumsfeld - the man who supervised our humiliation in Vietnam - has recently meddled vastly MORE than the politicians did in that failed disaster, overruling the professional officers who wanted to used proved techniques that worked in the fantastically successful campaigns in the Balkans and Afghanistan.
- The plummet in readiness... the torching of alliances... and my personal harshest grivance, a fierce political purge of the Officer Corps.
And so on.... THESE are issues that a liberal could push and not sound like a wimp. Ditch the leftists and make clear that you are not against a sane and decent Pax Americana. Just the rabid, insane, alliance-destroying and hatred-generating version that those bright imbeciles, the Straussian neocons, have inflicted upon us and the world."
Brilliant.
I urge you all to explore more of Mr. Brin's points at his blog:
http://www.davidbrin.blogspot.com
Peace. Rock amongst yourselves until I return.