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05/25/2004: "Risk"

In the board game Risk, there are 42 countries on six continents; up to six players may play at the same time. Players get extra armies at the beginning of each turn based on countries owned, continents owned, and, indirectly, based on the number of turns in which at least one country was taken. During their turn, players may attack any opponent's country from an adjacent country of their own. Whether they win or not depends on luck and the number armies in the two countries. As games progress, players tend to have blocks of countries with armies massed on the countries around the perimeter.

Iraq has the feel of a perimeter country to me now. Iran is sending lots of support there. Terrorists view Iraq as a chance to fight infidels. In a sense, our enemies are massing their armies against us in Iraq.

In Risk, once you get through an opponents perimeter country, amassing further victories is easy; countries inside the preimeter are lightly garrisoned. I suspect the same concept applies in Iraq. My weakest thought is that if we lose in Iraq, the terrorists will have an easier time attacking the Sears Tower or the White House. If we lose Iraq, I feel strongly we will have a hard time taking down the next international suopporter of terrorists, be it North Korea or Saudi Arabia. But if we win Iraq, I suspect we'll have an easier time; perhaps presaging a student uprising in Iran.