Can it possibly be this easy?

The Iraqi Government, and its constituent political parties, is the natural sysadmin force for Mesopotamia. They have the skillset (Arabic and Kurdish speaking ability beyond the dreams of the State Department!), they have the will, they have the motivation, they have the bodies. We should support them with guns, money, and air cover. They will support us by destroying our enemies and ending anarchy. Then we can all get to work.

This is “easy” but it requires two realizations that Bush is hesitant to make
1) A representative, democratic Iraq would not be a liberal Iraq.
2) Our enemies will lose the sociodemographic ability to fight.

Neither stopped us in the reconstruction of Germany or Japan. But both are stopping us now.

[1] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/07/02/chainmail-oddities-artwork-and-gifts.html
[2] http://mysite.verizon.net/chainoddities/index.html

This seems to be a first cousin of Jim Bennett's mantra for the Anglosphere:

“Democracy, immigration, multiculturalism: Pick any two.”

In Iraq it would be “Democracy, National unity, Liberal institutions: Pick any two.”

I am in basic agreement with all this. We should pick a date certain, do not announce it. but let the Iraqis in on the fact that we are going to do the bug out, and it will be on them to do the fighting. That will help them focus.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/01/the_ideologue.html

I'd be honored!

I'm glad to see your blog is back up [1] — I mentioned one of your older posts to Eddie over here at tdaxp [2].

Lexington,

“Democracy, immigration, multiculturalism: Pick any two.”

Hard to argue against that!

“In Iraq it would be “Democracy, National unity, Liberal institutions: Pick any two.”"

Or, Iraq: Democracy, National unity, Peace. Pick two.

“I am in basic agreement with all this. We should pick a date certain, do not announce it. but let the Iraqis in on the fact that we are going to do the bug out, and it will be on them to do the fighting. That will help them focus.”

Agreed. Let them do the fighting. But support them with what we have lots of and can spend easily: money, materiel, air cover. Reflexive betrayal of the Edwards variety would be insane.

And regarding Buchanan, he's a direct descendent of the old American Firsters, who were never isolationists — only Western Hemispherists. The position is reasonable — we already have half the world, let's settle on that. Very similar to the Lord Halifax faction in Britain — let's just keep our Empire, and not mind if there is some greater power in Eurasia.

[1] http://themetropolistimes.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/01/30/i-m-back.html
[2] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2007/01/29/the-right-to-self-defense-as-reserved-to-the-states-respecti.html#c1425167