An End to Evil, Iraqi Freedom, Learnings from Poland

Right now, I am thoroughly enjoying Frum and Perle's An End to Evil. (Although the voice talent for the audio book is a bit overboard - too affected methinks)

One interesting aside. They rightly point out that there has been a definate lack of support for the Iraqi people from US sources over the years. They compare this with the notable and generous dealings that Eastern European countries received from their US contacts. These efforts eventually helped to topple the communist regimes.

One key difference however between the two scenarios. The Soviet satellite states had a decent semblance of "native" support in the states. For example, the largest population of Poles outside of Warsaw is in Chicago. Many of the "under-the-table" efforts to overthrow the politburo puppets came from "helping-hand" packages sent through the Catholic church and family relations on the mainland (packages masked as clothing, embedded with short-wave radios, American literature, monies...).

Unfortunately, there is (was) no Iraqi equivilent. Middle-eastern blending into American life is far and few between: not unhead of... but certainly rarer than 3rd generation Polish Americans. F & M are correct: American support for Iraqi independence has been lacking on a grassroots level... but that can hardly be expected from a country with precious little "melting" of Arab influences.