Re: Russia
Thanks for the support, DJohns, but actually I welcome those kind of comments. It simply illustrates the lack of depth of the counter arguments. I hear from many sources that any sort of opposition to the current policy is approaching treason, and I find it somewhat amusing, if not disturbing.<br /><br />And yes, Kiwi, I have heard those same reports of the woman being hung for waving at the US troops. I have no doubt it could be true. I am not sure what kind of importance to place on it, as it is not surprising that a repressive dictarorial regime resorts to those sorts of tactics when their homeland is invaded.<br /><br />That is, of course, how repressive dictarorial regimes retain power, by instilling fear. There are lots of these regimes in the world, and I would hazard a guess that there are few of them that welcome open dissent in the populace. We can see from NOSLEEP'S comments about me that it is a pretty standard reaction around the world, even in supposedly free countries.<br /><br />What really concerns me, as I have said before, is not that Saddam is not a bad guy- he of course is- or not that he should not be removed--I will not shed any tears when he is gone--but rather the ramifications on American security and safety from this action.<br /><br />We are seeing, among other disturbing images, of massive protests happening in Pakistan for example, that threatens the stability of the Pakistani government. The Pakistanis don't fear Saddam. Now the Pakistani government has been instrumental in helping us round up Alqaida terrorists, and I will be very surprised if they continue with any urgency this task now. Their government in supporting Americans will be on pretty shaky ground.<br /><br />And the media reports around the world are not very flattering to Americans. Or very helpful in estabishing safety and security of Americans in the world. Now I know you can argue that those media reports are biased, and no doubt they are, but they are all biased on both sides.<br /><br />Whether you show a photo of American Marines with big guns and bigger flags, as Fox News likes to do, or you show photos of dead babies, as a good share of the rest of the world sees, they are both an integral part of war, and both "true". It is simply a matter of perception.<br /><br />I have no idea what will happen after this war is over. I have no idea what the reaction will be of the Iraqi people once Saddam and his regime is removed, as it no doubt will be. Perhaps it will depend on our actions after the war, which is far more important than the war itself. In this area, we have a less than stellar record, and I hope that changes. I don't have a good feeling about that, but time will tell.<br /><br />I think it is reasonably clear from the progress of the war that while the resistance to the invasion by the Iraqis is pretty fierce, the evidence so far suggests that even if Saddam did have WMD, he had no way to deliver those weapons outside his borders. The fact there has been no Iraqi air resistance, nor has there been any missle strikes against Israel, and just a few largely ineffective lobs at Kuwait, suggests to me that the "threat" Saddam posed to his neighbors was minimal.<br /><br />So, when all is said and done, to paraphrase Reagan, "are we safer now, or before?" We'll see, I suppose, but my guess is we were much safer before.<br /><br />And there has to be a better way, with all of our technology and wealth, to win the hearts and minds of foreign peoples and countries than with bombs. It may take a bit longer, but it is worth the effort. I am not necessarily a pacifist at all. There are times when force is definitely necessary. I just don't believe that this was one of them.<br /><br />And the idea that we should impose our values on the rest of the world by force is a chilling concept.<br /><br />And out of curiousity, just exactly what do we do if China decides it feels a threat from Taiwan and decides to invade them? They would, after all, just be following our lead.
<br /><br />Mellowyellow put it well. If my neighbour was beating the crap out of his wife and children - (and to cap if off - threatening me with all sorts of horrible weapons) I'd sure as hell do something about it. Why would the situation be any less compelling on the international stage ? <br /><br />You worry about what the rest of the world will think about Americans.... Well in my opinion the world respects winners and disrespects losers. It's a sad fact. Vietnam did a ton of damage to America's public credibility because it didn't win - not because of any other reason. It lost that war only because so many people didn't support their troops and followed the fashionable ant-war fad. That is what generated so much anti-americanism at the time. I'm sorry to say that and mean no disrespect to the heroic troops that served their countries well at Vietnam.<br /><br />This time around, Saddam will be beaten, Iraq will be liberated and this war will be remembered as a necessary one.
