Shiites March in Baghdad Against U.S.

Associated Press ^ | 05-20-03

[Tin-Legions]

I dont think we have a good comparison re. Japan and Germany's reconstruction versus Iraq.

1. Japan was allowed to keep it's emperor, that in itself gave "face" to much of the Japanese population and helped legitimize US rule.

2. Japan's ability to resist was crushed. Iraqi's and other Muslim fruitcakes have plenty of resistance left in them.

3. Japan had, and still has, a disciplined population that has a culture with a belief in the rule of the emperor and his law. Retaining the emperor was the crucial move in stabilizing Japan post war. No such parallel exists in Iraq.

4. Both Japan and Germany are not peopled with uneducated barbarians-(even though many Jews and Chinese may disagree). Force of law is usually enough to keep these populations in line. Force of arms is the ONLY thing that keeps most Muslim nations in line.

5. I agree that it will take time to establish order in Iraq, but the rule of law has never really existed in the Middle East. Our work is cut out for us.

[Praxeas]

I'm afraid the Shiites are going to be a big problem. How can they be handled?

Napalm.

[priceofreedom]

My thought on the matter......it wouldnt surprise me at all if many of these protesters sre actually Iranian or even Syrian nationals sent by those governments to create an uprising, as well as play to the cameras in order to make the U.S. and the coalition lose face in the eyes of the rest of the world.

[American in Israel]

Thousands (how many?) marched. Hundreds of thousands didn't.

Agreed, not to worry, the ones that marched are all full of shiite anyway...

[American in Israel]

After all, why did we invade one oil-rich country to oust a dictator while the world is swarming with dictators that are a lot worse than Saddam Hussein, but don't have oil...

Perhaps we invaded Iraq not because it was the country with oil, but the country with Anthrax, ya think? Early reports let slip that the method used to weaponize the Anthrax used in the US was based on bentonite clay. That is the Iraqi method. Even we do not know how to make it that way. Very clear indications that Saddam was not only training Al Queda, but arming them with WMD.

Random Dictators can screw up their country all they want, after all it is their country, but when they screw up our country, we will screw up their country. And trust me, we know how to put on the screws...

[MEG33]

Welcome to Free Republic.

[DoctorMichael]

We didn't kill enough of them during the liberation.

[ladtx]

I'm beginning to think we need to forget about "nation building". Clean out these cesspools of any Al-Queda, Hamas, etc. operatives, deplete their armies of weapons and leave them to their own devices. They don't understand democracy, don't want it and can't handle it if we gave it to them on a silver platter. If they want to remain in the dark-ages that's their problem.

[MEG33]

Don't give up yet.There are murderers and thiefs in America.Look at the peace marchers we had here. There can be progress made.

[Chewbacca]

I think the US Government should print up copies of the Federalist Papers in Arabic and pass them out the Iraqis.

Maybe that will give them something to think about.

[Wright is right!]

"IMO this is being orchestrated by Iran."

Everyone in the media KNOWS this - and, to the last man - none will put it in a news story. The mullahs and their henchmen in Iran are behind every last demonstration - and everyone knows it.

Michael

[Austin Willard Wright]

"handled?" Ah...for the days when we actually thought other peoples should be allowed to govern themselves not be be ruled by their U.S. "betters."

[kkindt]

I agree - that democracy cannot be established in Iraq because the vast majority believe in a god allah who is insistent that his enemies be either forced to pay a humiliation tax if they wish to live in territory he controls or be killed for trying to promote faith in any god except him. The god worshipped by Muslims is not only intolerant of any rivals but insists that no other rivals be promoted in territory he controls through his true believers. Muslims, when in the majority and they are really believers in this god, must be faithful to him and this god does not permit democracy in which religious freedom is permitted. THe whole basis of American democracy is the free exercise of religion - not Christianity - but the free exercise of whatever religion you wish to practice. When Christians are not permitted to speak publicly of Jesus Christ and tell the good news about His death for our sins and His resurrection - that He is God and He made Himself flesh for us - then democracy will not be permitted. I doubt the government we help them establish will permit Christians to share publicly this good news about Jesus Christ. That is violation of Muslim law and will not be tolerated. As long as it is not permitted to speak the name of Jesus Christ in public and help others come to know Him as Lord and Savior a nation will not enjoy peace nor ever be a place where democracy is really practiced.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Well...we agree but the Wilsonians in the Bush administration who gave us this war (WMD and Al Quada lins were just diversions) are not about to pack up and go home. Some of us said this a long time ago.

[M Kehoe]

I'm afraid the Shiites are going to be a big problem.

Actually this is a very positive article. Why? No one was killed, the clerics blew off some steam, and they got (with permission) to show force. You can't take a 7th century mentality/culture into the 21st century in a matter of weeks without some growing pains.

5.56mm

[ASA Vet]

but the rule of law has never really existed in the Middle East

2350 BCE Urakaina's Code (Mesopotamia)
2050 BCE Ur-Nammu's Code (Ur, Sumeria)
1700 BCE Hammurabi's Code (Babylon)

Seems the "rule of law" actually originated in the middle east.

[CyberAnt]

I was speaking strickly to street reactions of the Iraqi people vs. how the people of Japan reacted. It was the same, emperor or not!!

[priceofreedom]

When is it going to get through to you that the reason we went to Iraq was first, to disarm a brutal dictator and secondly to make life better for the people that had to live with him. If these people have the freedom to demonstrate against the U.S. then their lives have already gotten better.......Get it?