But in my current condition, my presence in the country would amount to the introduction of germ warfare against the Iraqis. As I, in good conscience, cannot advocate the use of germ warfare against any population anywhere, civilian or military, I must on that basis respectfully decline.

If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.

And seriously, nice plan. Too bad Iraq isn't Japan, and we don't have another MacArthur hanging around. One thing about the Marshall Plan that made it such a success is that it was a surprise. The Allies had stated that the objective of the war was to defeat the Axis, not to take over the countries and rebuild them.

It appears that the objective of the projected war in Iraq is not, after all, to disarm Saddam (though that's a nice dividend) so much as to make Iraq over into the image of what we think it should look like. That job really and truly belongs to Iraqis. Only then do any reforms, improvements, or differences from the Bad Old Days have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving.

It is good to know someone is thinking ahead. Now the next thing to figure out is how to convince shell-shocked Iraqis that we come in piece -- er, peace.

Regards--
Mary Anne