Posted on 09/18/2002 7:11:24 PM PDT by Burkeman1
Saddam's own people cannot dispose of him because the average Iraqi can never get close enough to him. That's one of the problems when human beings are deprived of their natural right to defend themselves by a government which has grown too big for its britches. Such people are then at the mercy of anyone who is more ruthless than they.
Why? Because the rest of the world views you as a bully.
No, little Iraqi/Chinese apologist, the 'rest of the world' views us as no such thing. In fact, you do not know what 'the rest of the world' thinks. Nor does anyone. NOr would it matter... if something is the right thing to do, it remains the right thing to do even if the entire world be against it.
Always. Invading Iraq for any reason is BAD. Why?
Understand? Bad. You think you can go it alone?
Yes.
America is not alone.
True, we're not alone, and we will have more nations coming on board when we resolve to act. And once Hussein is out of the way they will be much more public about it.
Taking care of Saddam isn't going to do any good in the long run.
Sure it will. At the very least there will be one less tyrant on the earth and we will get to look all over that country at our leisure for his stash of weapons, which we will destroy. And if Iraqis decide to revert back to another dictator, his efforts will have to start from the bottom again.
Always think of the long run.
We are thinking of the long run. That's why Hussein has to go. And some others, but give us time...
Also I think the threat of a nuclear or biological attack against America is HIGHLY unlikely.
You think so, eh? I'd prefer to know so. Well, you've made a fool of yourself because there has already been a test run of anthrax. That does qualify as a biological attack, and the stuff used was of the right type and quantity to do some serious damage, although the delivery system was chosen more for public effect than for anything else. And that illustrates the main problem: that of blackmail. If Iraq had not had its nuclear reactor blown to bits by the Israelis back in the Iran Iraq War, (Iran had their nuclear facility destroyed by Iraq) then Iraq could have invaded Kuwait at leisure and stayed there and the US would have had to let the issue go, or risk having Iraq nuke one of our allies or a state where we had troops located. Now that Iraq has longer range missiles, its potential for nuclear blackmail becomes more versatile.
Iraq's not the only place in the world that sees WMD as a cheap tool for state sponsored terrorism. In some ways it's the only tool. Those airplanes and tanks that the third world countries were looking for to prettify their parades are looking remarkably pathetic since the Gulf War. That's why terrorism has been the tool of choice for states like Syria and Cuba and so forth. You can bet everyone's taken note of the possibilities of blackmailing a more powerful enemy into overlooking incursions into other nations, ignoring island-snatching, coups, or into deciding to retreat from a region in the face of a biological anonymous hint within the larger power's country.
We have one missing pilot and that is sufficient for me. We have Iraq harboring terrorists who tried to assassinate US officials and American citizens inside the US and abroad. We have Iraq past agression. We have Iraq training and harboring the people who carried out the attacks on the WTC, the Pentagon, and on the failed attack of Flight 93. But in addition to that, we have the fact that Iraq is in violation of the cease fire terms.
The US should always endeavor to carry through with any thing we do, once we have determined to do it. That is a neccessity because when we fail to deliver, it emboldens critters like Hussein and burns our friends. The US is in the most danger both here and abroad when she is seen as a paper tiger. HIstory is rife with examples of US weakness begetting terrorism. And the trend ove rthe last two decades has been towards the increased use of 'deniable' third parties to conduct acts of state terrorism. This of course only works if your victim will not act until AFTER it has been hit and AFTER an investigation. If your intended victim decides that training terrorists and sending them abroad is evidence of an intent to commit terrorist acts and opts to strike, this 'deniability' is gone because the triggering mechanism has in effect been made more sensitive- you have lost the too-generous benefit of the doubt.
Iraq has done fairly well, and Iran has as well, with one of the most serious offenders using terrorists being Syria; but now, if a country harbors what looks like a terrorist, speaks like a terrorist, and acts like a terrorist, the cpountry will be assumed to be sponsoring terror, and more importantly, will be treated as a terrorist state and held responsible if they do not straighten out.
Iraq is of immediate concern because it is unfinished business, it has biologival and chemicalweapons and has demonstrated its willingness to use such weapons on human beings including its own people. it is very near obtaining nuclear capability and the anti-Hussein opposition still has some fight in them, which makes it a suitable step in the war. It also happens to be strategically located for future use in tearing the teeth out of the terrorism as common practice of nation-states. No longer will we view acts of terrorism as 'deniable' and turn away from holding nations responsible for what they covertly encourage.
Why would he? Because he feels threatened?
Why did Hitler attack his neighbors? Some people are simply evil. It's not merely an issue of a terrorist or terrorist state using them, but also an issue of their being able to threaten other nations with their use. I for one see no reason why we should put up with the threat when we are capable of eliminating it. Hussein's threat from his large army and Scuds is enough to make surrounding states very quiet, so they must support he US covertly for fear of his retribution- Hussein is closer to them than we, after all. We can come and go, but Iraq is always there. Letting him obtain nukes would make this atmosphere even more dire.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.