Posted on 07/21/2002 12:51:10 PM PDT by JimSEA
Paying the price for many past sins
The pressure continues to grow on President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. He is now without a civilised friend in the world. He is banking on hopes that countries he has despised and attacked will feel he is not bad enough to topple. It is unlikely to suffice. Last week, again, US President George Bush said that a regime change in Iraq is part of US foreign policy. It should have been everyone's policy long ago. Still, replacing the regime of Saddam Hussein with a decent government will not be easy, and must not be undertaken thoughtlessly.
Mr Saddam must disabuse himself there is revulsion against overthrowing nasty heads of nation states. He could look to our region, where the United Nations is deeply involved in replacing the violent, uncaring military dictatorship of Burma with a civil, civic administration. Vietnam won wide praise for throwing out the Khmer Rouge. He could look to Africa, where the world united in sanctions that toppled the patently offensive apartheid regime in South Africa. He should examine the case of Libya, where dictator Moammar Gadhafi was forced to change his policies, and won tiny shreds of acceptance when he stopped his support for terrorism.
The fall of every dictator of course creates enormous problems in the short term. Ferdinand Marcos left the Philippines as an economic basket case. Vietnam occupied Cambodia, instead of liberating it. Iran replaced the shah's brutality with an often more brutal theocracy. It will not be easy to overthrow the Iraqi government if it resists. When it falls, the resulting problems will be enormous.
In this case, it is difficult to imagine that either the world or Iraq could be worse off without the present government. Indeed, it is a measure of the violence and hostility of the Baghdad regime that it refuses to allow Iraqis to choose their own government. Governments with free and fair elections are overthrown every year, from Thailand to Taiwan to Turkey. It is yet unclear how the Saddam regime will end, but it will probably be replaced by a government that moves towards democracy.
Mr Saddam's regime began in 1979 with the traditional military coup that marks most regimes of his ilk. Since then, Iraq has dipped progressively into violence and terror. The Saddam government started a war with Iran that went on for eight of the most brutal years in history. During that war, Baghdad became the first _ and only _ government since the Germans of World War One to use poison gas on the battlefield. In the north of Iraq, the regime sprayed poison gas on its own people, the Kurds, when they demanded local autonomy.
This open use of terrible weapons by the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein is the most important reason he should be replaced. But it is not the only one. Iraq claims freedom of religion but has brutalised Shiite Muslims in the south of the country. Iraq invaded, looted and murdered in Kuwait. Defeated by the largest coalition in history, Iraq promised to stop developing terrible weapons and give up claims to Kuwait. It has reneged on both promises.
The treatment of Iraqis by the Baghdad regime matters. In today's world, constant murder, torture and the jailing of political prisoners should never be tolerated. Indeed, such behaviour is behind the UN efforts to replace the Burmese dictators. But the truth is that Saddam Hussein has outraged and mistreated his neighbours and directly lied to, and cheated, nations around the world.
One can regret it is necessary to use pressure or force to remove the most abusive governments. But if we are to call this world ``civilised'', it is necessary to stand up to those who act uncivilised. If they refuse to change themselves, they must be changed.
Oh, boy! With Thailand watching our back, Saddam is as good as toast. /sarcasm
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