ISIS on the offensive in Iraq

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Cultures accept the rule of law as paramount to the rule of power or of the individual or they do not.

Invading and winning where the rule of law is accepted can yield a relatively brief occupation followed by the formation of a working state (e.g. Post ww2 West Germany; Post ww2 Italy).

Invading and winning where the rule of law is not accepted likely yields nothing but a delay in the return to violence and warlordism unless you are willing to have the occupation last 35 years and create a new generation with a new culture.


I am still awed by MacArthur's success with Japan following ww2....though it is fairer to think of it as Japanese success with a dash of help from Dugout Doug.