TO HOPE - LET GOOD SENSE PREVAIL.

To every man upon this earth,
Death cometh sooner or late.
And how can man die better,
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temple of his gods?

Thomas Babington Macaulay

I can think of a great many ways to die better. The first that comes to mind is at home, surrounded by my family after a reasonably long and healthy life. We seldom get what we want but is it necessary to fling good men away on the alter of someone else's god? Let them squabble over the ashes of their father's and temples of their gods to kingdom come, as far as I'm concerned. They have been at it for centuries, they are not going to stop now.

What makes Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States and Ukraine think they can change anything? Is it worth the cost of trying to?

To get back to old Horatio and facing fearful odds. I don't think there's a canny gambler on earth who'd give decent odds on a happy outcome in Iraq.

I'd leave Saddam and his murderous mates rotting in prison, throw the keys in the moat, and let whosoever gets there first deal with him, Iraqi Style, while I pulled every soldier, adviser, diplomat and civilian contractor out. Being a totally bloody minded realist, I'd leave any missionaries behind to reap their just reward from whichever god they think they're serving.

It is time to admit not everyone wants democracy which is an anathema in the Temples of their God anyway. Let someone try again once evolution has caught up to and tamed the savages.