Dear George,
Here’s a tip of the hat to our resolute ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. He’s a man’s man, a red-blooded American, who is holding high the torch of democratic autonomy by telling Iraq how to run its democratically elected government.
He told them, by God, that if they formed a sectarian government, the United States would no longer invest its resources in the country. I love his position because it illustrates the golden rule of policymaking.
On the surface, his position seems touch unusual in view of all that our investments have done for Iraq, like trashing their infrastructure, aiding and abetting the looting of their national treasures, reducing the oil revenues that were suppose to pay for the war and reconstruction, leaving parts of Iraq without a reliable source of water or electricity, and bringing Iraq to the brink of civil war.
Common sense tells us the only sane Iraqi response to Zalimay’s threat would be: Thank you so very much!
Which is why common sense has no place in policymaking.
Which is why most policies are destined to fail.
Which is necessary because it keeps policymakers employed formulating new policies to replace the ones that failed until the new ones fail and policymakers have to formulate a new set to policies to replace….and so on, and so forth. For, the golden rule of policymaking is to create a policy that is certain to fail, a rule Zalimay has certainly mastered.
Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones
8:57:42 PM 
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