I feel as though I'm back in junior high school, writing one of those agonizing "compare and contrast" essays. Compare and contrast the Korean peninsula in 1953 with Iraq in 2007.
I hurriedly scribble some notes in the inside front cover of the blue book:
- Korea, only two sides. Iraq, many-sided conflict.
- Korea, negotiated settlement, with major superpowers endorsing the end to combat. Iraq, no negotiations, and no end to conflict.
- Korea, relatively few cleavages across ethnic, sectarian, or clan lines. Iraq, many such cleavages.
- Korea, clear mission for the US in containing the USSR, the PRC, and their allies. Iraq, no clear mission, and no consensus at home about objectives.
- Korea, conventional conflict, with occasional annoyances from North Korean commandos. Iraq, no conventional armies, nothing but varying degrees of guerrilla warfare and terrorism.
Knowing how I used to take tests, I'd run the risk of writing so many points of comparison that I wouldn't finish the essay. Needless to say, these differences, among several others I might name, make the Korea/Iraq analogy completely goofy and unconvincing. Who's writing the President's speeches these days? Fer Chrissakes, given Bush's taste for the iconography of the American West, a better analogy might have been the Indian Wars (except, of course, it would be politically unacceptable to make the analogy). He might have cited the US occupation of Haiti. He might have cited our British ally's long struggle with the IRA, or any number of other successful counterinsurgency wars fought or supported by other governments.
But Korea? The White House doesn't seem to be even trying to convince anyone this time.
You misread the question on the exam - our substitute teacher, Tony Snow, wrote on the chalkboard: "Compare the feasibility of maintaining a long-term (decades) presense of American troops in Iraq with the logistical and operational issues observed with maintaining a significant military force in South Korea. Do not consider value (or detriment) of such military installations to the overall strategic mission in those respective theaters."
Posted by: J. | 06/06/2007 at 05:53
More to the point, the lecturer in this course has demonstrated a profound and deep attachment to overly simplistic analogies.
As such, the answer to the test question goes like this:
1. American troops in Korea, fighting bad guys = America troops fighting bad guys in Iraq.
2. American troops and allies never fully controlled all of Korea = American troops and allies aren't controlling all of Iraq.
3. American troops stayed in part of Korea and now that part of Korea is our friend and is democratic and capitalistic, so therefore leaving American troops in part of Iraq will work out exactly the same way!
You, young man, are simply making it all too complicated for your own good!
Posted by: Steven Taylor | 06/07/2007 at 11:20
A certain people just use each of our free slots no deposit needed to provide each other with tokens that they begin to could use on numerous casino games. Vegas casino online had any problem ranking at the specific top spot on today's best online casinos directory. iphone 5 Cases best iphone 5 cases ipad 2 Keyboard stylus for ipad 3 iphone 5 aluminum case ipad 3 cases with keyboard iphone 4s case iphone 4 covers ipad smart cover best case for Samsung galaxy S3 galaxy s2 accessories best ipad 3 case zagg ipad keyboard keyboard for ipad iphone 5 screen protector aluminum iphone 4 case iphone accessories Ipad 3 Accessories iphone 5 charger - grizzlygadgets.com - Best Ipad mini case (grizzlygadgets.com) leather iphone 4 case cool iphone 4 case iphone 4 cases cases for ipad 3 ipad 4 cases ipad 2 case review (Grizzlygadgets.com) mini ipad cases ipad 3 case iphone 4s accessories iphone 4 case (http://grizzlygadgets.com/iphone-case) Iphone 4 Cases iphone 4 charger Accessories For Samsung Galaxy S3 iphone 5 cases - grizzlygadgets.com, samsung galaxy s3 cases amazon cases for ipad 3 iphone aluminum case aluminum iphone 4 case - grizzlygadgets.com - ipad 3 cover new ipad cases galaxy s2 covers iphone case best iphone 5 cases best ipad case metal iphone 5 cases apple ipad 2 case phone cases for samsung galaxy s3 ipad 3 cases with keyboard iphone 5 covers ipad 3 accessories - grizzlygadgets.com, leather iphone 5 cases leather iphone cases Ipad Case iphone 5 accessories iphone covers ipad 2 cover top iphone cases iphone 4s case iphone 5 screen protector best iphone 5 cases (http://grizzlygadgets.com) best case For Ipad 3 keyboard for ipad cheap iphone 4 cases best galaxy s3 accessories (http://grizzlygadgets.com/) ipad cases cool ipad 2 cases iphone 4s case, grizzlygadgets.com, ipad cases iphone 4 cases galaxy s3 charging case stylus for ipad 3 ipad mini accessories ipad mini cover iphone 4s leather case apple ipad accessories ipad Mini accessories iphone 5 cases new ipad accessories cheap iphone 4 cases best keyboard for ipad iphone cases; grizzlygadgets.com, iphone 5 wallet case ipad mini smart cover iphone 5 case [grizzlygadgets.com] iphone 5 case cool iphone covers s3 case Best iphone Case mini ipad cases (http://grizzlygadgets.com/) case for samsung galaxy s2 accessories for galaxy s3 ipad charger iphone leather case [grizzlygadgets.com] ipad 3 cases (http://grizzlygadgets.com/) ipad 2 keyboard galaxy s3 case otterbox Ipad 3 Cases Best Keyboard For Ipad new ipad case best ipad mini case best ipad cover leather ipad 2 case best ipad 3 case ipad cover s3 cases (grizzlygadgets.com) best iphone case ipad Case
Posted by: iphone 5 Cases | 10/03/2013 at 04:50