Mr. Brooks fairly breaks my heart with [TS] Savagery's Stronghold.

We have all been raised on stories in which good triumphs over evil, and in these stories good does not triumph by chance. It triumphs because honesty, virtue and decency pay off in the long run. Evil, meanwhile, contains the seeds of its own destruction. Those who lie, torture and kill eventually become entrapped by their own sins.

After recovering from a war hawk writing that last sentence, I figured his intent is to support greater savagery in execution by our military without invoking White Guilt like y'all boy Shelby do.

...they are winning precisely because they are savage, and are proud to do things their enemies are ashamed to do. In Iraq right now, virtue seems to be a handicap and barbarism an empowering force.

...The lesson is that if you are willing to defy all norms and codes of morality, you can undermine your enemy's willingness to fight.

...the Iraqi insurgents have been able to create a climate of special treachery, in which every approaching civilian is a possible suicide bomber and every bedroom a potential terrorist haven.

...in our debates at home we are searching for ways to exercise enough power to defeat the insurgents while still behaving in accordance with our national conscience. We are seeking a sweet spot that satisfies both the demands of power and of principle. But it could be that given the circumstances we have allowed the insurgents to create, that sweet spot no longer exists.

I think it behooves us to remember which fairy tale proved false. Right now, it seems our forces suffer from the actions of those who lie, torture and kill. Because we do not see ourselves as evil, Mr. Brooks' rhetoric turns our vision outward but the fact is this was not only predictable, it was predicted. The fairy tale ran along the lines of being welcomed as liberators.

For Mr. Brooks, for Iraq Invasion hawks, for believers in fairy tales around the world, I suggest you attend to the great sage Anita Baker.

You never came to save me, you let me stand alone
Out in the wilderness, alone in the cold
I found no magic potion, no horse with wings to fly
I found the poison apple, my destiny to die
No royal kiss could save me, no magic spell to spin
My fantasy is over, my life must now begin

My story end, as stories do
Reality steps into view
No longer living life in paradise - no fairy tales