"Tony Cox" wrote in message
link.net...
"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...

And barely 200 years ago Spain was one of the three (Spain, England,
France), if not THE dominant power(s) and most prosperous nations in the
world. Today they're like a bunch of burned out old hags. They were
never
really invaded, but the destroyed themselves from within. And so it
goes...

You also have to remember that Spain is just one generation
removed from a fascist dictatorship.

Is it even that long? Dictatorship or elected, it takes many generations to
get that our of your system. Notice the hardship the old Soviet bloc is
having coming into the modern world. Several lifetimes of someone running
everyones lives is hard to overcome.

As such, its political
institutions are somewhat fragile and its political class is
immature. The socialists never really expected to win, and
are in a way caught up in their own rhetoric.

Well, as the adage goes, "They made their bed, now let them sleep in it."


That said, the new governments position is certainly irresponsible.
No matter what one might think of Bush/Blair and how we got
there, the question that should be asked is "What would happen
if *all* troops pulled out?". Clearly, the result would be a civil war,
further instability, the possible restoration of the Ba'athist régime,
and the resumption of mass killings. As the new Spanish government
would prefer to analyze the situation by describing the occupation
as "a joke" (so ok, how would you make it better?) and by calling
Blair "a dick head", it is clear that they aren't ready for a place at
the top table.

Some people have to learn all their lessons the hard way. What's the old
line from Santayana about not learning from history?