Weekend Weather Effect Part 2

Although this is only the second weekend in a row with cool, cloudy, windy weather that turns sunny and warm on Monday and Tuesday, this pattern is getting old. Either it changes, or I start taking Mondays and Tuesdays off.

Wind sports on the Columbia River have been great the past week, so that's a plus.

The HR Weather Poll this week asks about the situation in Iraq. Specifically, what should our exit strategy be? I present some choices based on my own perspective; there are certainly other options but I am limited to just a few in a poll.

I, along with many others, thought before the war started that the whole concept of invading Iraq to help "safeguard our nation against terrorism" was a huge strategic error. It ignored the cultural and religious history of the area. Iraq was/is a nation of 3 distinct religious groups that were only held together by the power of a dictator. In the words of General Colin Powell, "if we break it, we own it". At the time, we (along with the world community) had Saddam Hussein completely contained. We had control of his airspace. Many teams of inspectors had determined that he did not have WMDs. Protecting us against terrorism could be done much more effectively through covert intelligence actions, encouraging moderate Islamic positions worldwide, and strengthening the security of our ports, borders, and infrastructure. Not to mention, way less expensively, both in terms of money and loss of human life.

But, since it was clear that this Administration had already decided upon an invasion, evidence was presented that "supported" their position. It's an age-old situation: if the boss is obviously dead set on something, the people that work for him tend to provide him with the information that supports his position. Or. you might possibly lose your job. And the proper heroic fighting words were presented to the public: "You're either with us or against us" "We'll fight the terrorists in Iraq and that will keep them too busy to come over here and fight" "Freedom is on the march" and other such simple feel-good phrases.

And we, as a nation, bought into it. Those of us who didn't were labeled unpatriotic, freedom-haters, and appeasers. I had hoped that our experiences with Vietnam had made us understand that going into preemptive and/or optional wars is not such a great idea. Diplomacy, negotiation, and coercion trump going to war far more often than not (WW1 and 2 being exceptions).

And yes, I do support our troops. Some of the best ways to support them are: 1) don't send them into optional wars, 2) get them out of ill-conceived wars sooner than later, and 3) provide them with all the material, armor, and future support (as veterans) that they need.

Enough of my opinions already. What do you think (other than I should keep my opinions to myself)?

By the way, I planted my cucumber starts too soon, as usual. They have since withered and collapsed, and will have to be replanted next week.