"Unfortunately, the political climate in Washington today is analogous to that of 60 years ago. In 1946-47, partisan divisions, deepened by disdain for a president considered in over his head, were threatening to make it impossible to reverse the unraveling of the U.S. position in the region that then was most crucial to U.S. interests - Europe. In 1946, the president's party lost control of both houses of Congress, in what was partly a vote of no confidence in President Harry Truman. A shattered Europe was sliding toward chaos, with communism gaining ground in Western as well as Central Europe.
Truman, however, embraced a proposal for substantial U.S. aid to Europe, but directed that Secretary of State George Marshall's name, not his, be on it. That was achieved when Marshall made the proposal in his June 1947 Harvard commencement address. Truman also instructed Marshall to make necessary accommodations with Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, the Michigan Republican who chaired the Foreign Relations Committee.
Today, no one has a promising idea for Iraq comparable to the Marshall Plan. And who would be the Democrats' Vandenberg, capable of muting Democrats' ferocious rejection of all the president's ideas?"
The problem with envisioning a modern day Marshall Plan is the fact that we're already dumping tens of billions into Iraq to begin with, and while Europe was an even worse mess it was fortunate to have enough men of vision to assist us. Here's the point where I guffaw over the supposed smarts of Tony Blair. By very many accounts he is thought to be brilliant, but as can be plainly seen from his response to islamic terrorism in Europe, all he really has going for him is a marvelous line of bullswaddle. The man remains a great orator, and all Bush need do is haul him over here and let him take a lot of the credit for a new and improved Marshall Plan for Iraq.
If there was one. It simply is not politically correct to do what needed to be done in Europe. A President or Prime Minister cannot climb to the podium and calm the masses with visions of total capitulation by means of overwhelming fire superiority, and guess what? Since the cash isn't working...we ARE dealing with moslems now...the only way out is to pummel the enemy senseless because there sure aren't any Iraqi Churchills pitching in to help. And while the Hitlers and Mussolini's were dead as a doornail way back when, Iraq is surrounded by the likes of Iranian Presidents named Ahmadimmerbulb who continue to funnel men and weapons into the theater of operations.
Think of it as beating Italy but leaving Germany around to wreck havoc at every turn. Even Truman would have figured out by now that we need send a strong message to all our enemies in the region.
A modern day Marshall Plan? The only one that could work is a sincere missive to Iran and it's syncophants.
We know what you're doing and if it doesn't stop you are next. And mean it.
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