A Penguin in the Orchard

At The Heart of the Problem

Yes, it’s been awhile. There’s just so much to write about, it’s almost overwhelming.

Intentionally or not, a piece in the LA Times today articulates one of the most serious problems with the Bush administration.

Good versus evil isn’t a strategy - Los Angeles Times

Second, the Bush administration should disavow any plan for regime change in Iran — not because the regime should not be changed but because U.S. endorsement of that goal only makes it less likely. In today’s warped political environment, nothing strengthens a radical government more than Washington’s overt antagonism. It also is common sense to presume that Iran will be less willing to cooperate in Iraq and to compromise on nuclear issues if it is being threatened with destruction. As for Iran’s choleric and anti-Semitic new president, he will be swallowed up by internal rivals if he is not unwittingly propped up by external foes.

I think by now we all understand the inherent impossibility of the administration ever following this suggestion. The fact that “nothing strengthens a radical government more than Washington’s overt antagonism” has been utterly ignored since 9/11. It’s not in the character of George Bush, Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld to take the more nuanced road. Nuance appears beyond their grasp. Of the unholy alliance at the top of our government, only Condi Rice seems capable of moderation and, alas, she’s generally in the grips of incompetence.