Well, I actually sat through the President’s speech tonight. I didn’t find much interesting in the speech due to the constant leaks of the details. There were no changes in the rules of engagement, no direct strategies to demoralize the enemy, etc. However, one thing really caught my ear:
To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq’s provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country’s economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs.
So apparently, the way to solve the issues of radicalism and violence is bribery. Just hand out money and patronage jobs. What an insult! I find it so amusing that with solemn tone and moral conviction, the President proposes Richard J. Daley style machine politics as a means to help democratic stability. Boy, I can sure say that I feel confident in this new plan!