The Allies?

How many do we have this time?

When we talk about WWII as a model, let's not forget that the US was a latecomer -- a welcome one -- to a struggle well underway in which an alliance of aggressor states were waging active war upon their neighbors. One of those neighbors was a China already riven by civil war; one was not just Great Britain, but the British Empire.

No one had to prove there were warlike acts being committed. This is not the case in 2002.

And I reiterate: Iraq is not Japan in 1945. It's also not Germany in 1945 (which had at least a short between-World-Wars experience with democratic government), unless we're going to talk about partition amongst several Great Powers.

Korea was a UN action. Taiwan asked for protection from the Communist government on the mainland, who were the victors in the civil war being played out before, during and after the Japanese occupation. These are not comparable, either. We acted in support of governments which, while not democratic (and in some instances, repressive), had a constituency not consisting entirely of the armed forces of their nation.

Granted that it would be suicide for people to announce their candidacies for interim government positions in Iraq at the present time, but still: do we intend to prop up a regime whose primary constituency is the United States? Haven't we done that before, and do we remember what happened? Are we going to be the regime? Are we prepared to learn from the British and French experiences following that course? Do we really understand what that means?

Regards--
Mary Anne