Fire of Liberty
Josh Manchester has written a wonderful piece over at TCS Daily that pretty much notes the Jacksonian foreign policy tendency of the American populous.(He uses Phil Hartman's Frozen Caveman as an example) Basically Manchester notes that most people in the US are generally in line with President Andrew Jackson, which is that we're not great fans of fighting war but once we are provoked and enter into a war we're ready to use everything in our arsenal to take down our enemies where they hide and thus returning back to our everyday life when the fighting is over. The whole point is that the people of the US are willing to stay with any and all fights/wars that we get into as long they see that the government is pouring everything into the fight to lay our enemies to the wayside. With that said, I suggest that the US bucks up its efforts in Iraq by sending more troops into Iraq once and for all to roll up the danger spots that keep on causing problems for our troops and that threaten to cause the erupting civil war. It would be nice to say to "hell with Iraq" but I prefer that we get the job done right the first time so we don't have to go in again years later or give a boost to Osama's arguments (See here) thus losing the greater War on Terror(Islamic fascism). Even more, we should finish the fight as a testimony to our devotion to our fallen soldiers who gave their last full measure to help the folks in Iraq enjoy the G-d given rights that we take for granted in the states. So let's push onward to victory and reawaken that Jaksonian spirit that burns deep in the soul of America.(Ok, it's true that a section of the left and a small cadre on the right are repulsed to Jacksonian tendencies but that's them.)
*For more on Josh Manchester, check out his blog The Adventures of Chester.
>For a more thorough discussion on the Jaksonian impulse of the US populous , take a look at Walter Russell Mead's great book Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World.
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I agree with the take on Americans not being afraid to fight, wanting to go 'all out', and not drag something out. I feel very much the same way about this war. So far my belief is that the higher-ups have 'half-assed' it some...doing what we think is right while still tip-toeing with their actions. Some tip-toeing is always necessary (espec. when dealing with a war in a Muslim land), but as we inch closer to election time and as the opinions of the war dip, you'll see even more pullout (less troops) as the higher-ups let the polls affect their policy.
Also, I agree with your assessment of sending MORE troops but that should've been done when the war started. No one knows if it's too late now.
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