A recent essay invoking the specter of "false patriotism" from Common Dreams. Read the comments; consider expressing your own view on CD.
Another commentator writes (from "The Dog and Petraeus Show"):
The basic problem is that the McCain “no surrender!” approach to the Iraq war will have a strong, emotional resonance in the American spirit in spite of its complete lack of rationality. It has a mythic quality like “Remember the Alamo,” “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead,” “I have not yet begun to fight,” etc., etc. Americans love to be winners and absolutely detest being losers. “We’re number one!”
The Obama and Clinton approaches to the war, while perhaps being more sober in some respects, differ only in the conditions for departure, but do not fundamentally challenge the morality and legitimacy of America’s war and continued presence in Iraq. As a result, they will likely lose to McCain, since policy distinctions will be easily drowned out by McCain’s “courage & victory” vs. “defeatism” demagoguery. Even if Obama or Clinton win, they will be unlikely to successfully resist these emotional factors much less the institutional inertia that continues this debacle.
The war will end, but I do not believe it will end from the presidential leadership in either party. It will end when it is no longer sustainable from a fiscal or military perspective in spite of the prevailing emotional and institutional forces. Then, it will be time for the guardians of the status quo to seek out scapegoats to blame. Someone, likely those who opposed the war, did not let them “win.” Remember Vietnam? Only this time, a more frightened and less constitutionally restrained leadership will take their vengeance.
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