Sorry, Ramesh, I don’t see why I should care.
If Islamia is messed up, it’s equally messed up for everyone.
The only negative scenario I can think of is one in which Islamia is overrun
by radically anti-American regimes that either (a) refuse to sell oil to
anyone, or (b) refuse to sell it just to us.
There are things we could do about that. They know it, and they believe
(now) we have the will to do those things.
Shall we still, and will they still believe it, after a morale-sapping,
prestige-sapping 10-year occupation?
The attack on Iraq gave us tremendous street cred with the kind of people
who are impressed by major force. (Kim Jong Il disappeared into his deepest
bunker for a week.) That was one big reason I supported it. We are now
dissipating all that good capital.
Question: A few weeks ago, well before the Jan 30 elections, I read
somewhere that it costs at least $2,000 to get from Baghdad airport to the
Green Zone — because of the danger. Does it cost less now? Or more?
Perhaps we could use the cost of that cab ride as an index of progress in
Iraq. Someone should post it daily, like a stock index.