Replies to post #5023 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[sylvester80]

The issue is Iraq disarmament not Saddam. We already have a personal issue. It's called Bin Laden and he is still alive and well. As long as Iraq is disarmed what's the problem? Even Bin Laden called Saddam and his party "infidels", just like us. To me it seems that we need to let the U.N. focus on Iraq disarmament (and Blix's report friday showed that there is clear progress in that front) and instead go find Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.

[jbennett53]

jdaasoc, I am not sure of what precisely it is you are saying. With regards Israel and the Palestinians I sit evenly on the fence possibly with a slight tilt to the Israelis. If the Palestinians would desire to shove me completely off the fence to their side all they have to do is reject totally the avowed goal of the destruction of Israel. I do not feel that ANY peace is possible between the 2 sides without some hope of a decent existence for the Palestinians. What both sides are currently doing is providing the medium for greater hatreds to grow thus creating the potential for total disaster for both.
This awful situation has been intensifying for 50 years with no end in sight and I see perfect parallels in our handling of Iraq. Because we always seem to have some ulterior motives in our dealings with other countries we have repeatedly hurt people. Tell me why the Kurds can't have a home? They have, after all, lived for 7000 years on their land. Why did we give the Turks 4000 cattle prods which were used torturing Kurds? Why tell the American people of the atrocities committed by Saddam when we aid and abet the Turks in doing the same to the Kurds? Up until 1990 Saddam was our good friend, a policy which I opposed, and it was quite acceptable then that he terrorised his people. If we had left Saddam to the Iranians we would not be having this conversation. But we hated the Iranians because they had the gall to be angry about our overthrow of a legitimate government and the installation to power of a man who was not dissimilar to Saddam.
Now we go to war again. Can you tell me what will happen? What mess will we make that has to be cleaned later? Not to mention all those who will die as a direct or indirect consequence. What if NATO and the UN come undone? We are on a truly perilous path that may yield exactly that which we seek to prevent.
Can you tell me why Hitlers come to power in the first place? What creates these people and why do they get enough support from those in their countries that keep them in power? Why is it that occasionally the people rise up and overthrow a vicious government? Iran, Phillipines, Romania....