Marc S wrote:Truth is, the US has done what it wants since WW2. Once kept in check by the Soviets/Warsaw pact during the phoney cold war until the Wall came down in '89, (when neither side really knew the capabilities of each other, regardless of all the surveillance technology) and throw in mutually assured distruction, the US has had to fight hypocritical backdoor wars propping up dodgy regimes for its own strategic/economic ends; from backing and arming Saddam in the early 80s, trying to oust the Sandinistas and having to withdraw from Vietnam after entering an extremely ill-thought out war (to name but a handful) most of these offensives have been undertaken to shore up US influence in those areas.
Iraq is about oil, make no mistake; each unfortunate US soldier killed is probably attributable to Bush (I & II), Cheney, Rumsfeld and all of the 'Haliburton' sub-companies (and shareholders) that make billions from these wars.
Whilst I, as a UK citizen would rather be allied to the US than any other world power, the US's interventionist foreign policy has made many enemies around the world over the last 40 years. Couple that with spiralling muslim fundamentalist extremism and you have a tinderbox that cannot be 'fought' conventionally. We have the same problem fermenting within the UK - the 7/7 bombings in London were carried out by UK-born islamic fundamentalists - would sending tanks and hummers and obliterating parts of Leeds and Bradford, from where they came, helped the problem? It might make some people feel better in the short term but it wouldn't change anything and would stoke the fire of these lunatics.
The other major factor is internet access to both US citizens and other countries around the world - it is possible to find all of the contributory information that led to 9/11 easily enough and much harder for the current administration to whitewash the world media as to the reasons for invading Iraq other than controlling its oil reserves. People know too much and are not stupid.
All of this 'lets kick ass' gung ho should be channelled into other more useful approaches - it hasn't worked, the only net result is trillions of wasted dollars, dead soldiers and grieving families who probably wonder what their children have died for? I can't imaging this would have happened under a Clinton government, he was too good at diplomacy. Its a shame the Bush establishment stole your election in 2000. A more measured response then may have resulted in a more tempered situation now.
Will Saddam being executed change much? Unfortunately not, Iraq will just remain in a permanent state of civil war. As a country that was set up by the west years ago it will never realise its economic potential. Whilst it is too hot and there are not enough minerals in the soil generally to grow decent food, most of the Middle East will remain gripped by fundamentalist lunatic hot heads. With a US-backed Israel stuck firmly in the midst of all this, how can peace in the area ever be acheived. Saddams death, whilst welcome, will change nothing. The other villains remain, pockets stuffed with dirty money, in the Whitehouse.
The people they endanger are you and I, flying on airliners on holiday around the world - we are the targets.
Sorry if this is somewhat heavy, but it makes a change from whether Augeri is better or worse than Perry....[/i]
Mark, I think you have forgotten the past somewhat. This war is not about oil and all about religion. The Muslim faith has declared war on Israel and it's allies...the US being it's most powerful protector, and then the UK, Spain,.. (ect.). Who we are fighting are Muslim Fascist who won't coexist in a world in which they don't dominate. Jehad is ordained as a virtue that pleases their god by killing those that stand in the way of bring their religion to dominence. When people of this nature have the ability to cross the world and harm you, then they most be destroyed. They are evil.
The only way this war is about oil is because that is why Hussein started the war...to increase his power and regional dominance by taking over Kuwaiti oil fields and getting their seaport. If he would have been successful he would have moved into S. Arabia to do even more of the same. Desert Storm (1st War) was fought to protect the world's economy from a two-bit brutal dectator sitting on a mountain of cash and a large army who sought world power/domination and the distruction of western culture and influence.
The current Irac war was fought because once slapped back into his country and isolated from the outside world (aside from corrupt leaders of the UN looking to get rich under the table), this evil tyrrant spent the rest of his days trying to retaliate by brutalizing his people, taking daily pot-shots at coillition planes that patrolled the protected NO-FLY zone and becoming associated with sympathetic muslim terrorists with a mutual hate for western culture and the supporters of Israel. So he started assisting terrorist and continued devolpment of WMDs (mostly gas). By his history of using nerve gas to kill 100,000+ kurds, his continued attempts to get his hands on nuclear materials and his compensating the families of suicide bombers Hussein became the Muslim Fascist best friend. When he saw how they were able to stike successfully under the nose of Bill Clinton with out significant consequence/retaliation he continued his plots and announced that he was sitting on large stockpile of gas and willing to distribute to any interested like-minded parties. When he saw war was imminent the WMD's were hidden and smuggled out to sympathetic neighbors (likely Syria and Iran).
The current Gulf war is to prevent 9/11 from becoming a yearly Muslim holiday celebrated by reenactments around the world and to send a message to governments who assist/sponser these people and seek these designs, that they must forsake them or be destroyed.
I pray that despite the apathy that is developing in the US, because some are so self-involved & short sighted with their "cushy' lifestyles that they don't want to be bothered to even hear about war anymore, (or fight it), and the growing resentment around the world of the US being the sole Superpower, that enough of us who still have the conviction to continue to fight for what is right. Iran, Syria, and N. Korea now persue a similar course.
George Bush is a man of conviction but perhaps a lousy politician. Bill Clinton was a good politician but had zero moral conviction. I'll take moral conviction over political appeacement.
Let me explain to you how the banking system works....its a network....everything is connected with the terrorists. Did he directly ORDER the attack on 9-11?=no. But its so inter-connected between all the Arab countries and most of the cells operate with near impunity. They share intelligence, they share technology, the train within each other's countries, so there ya go.....
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