Replies to post #5158 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Dances-W-waves]

Nice post.

Not just because I agree with you, but because I wish I could put my thoughts into words nearly as well.

Thank you!

[stunjamie]

You are very erudite in your post (how do you type so fast and so accurately?), but you say "Saddam and his ilk". What is that? Is that everybody who isn't American, or doesn't agree with the new single superpower? Are all Muslims the same? Because they're all in that bit between Europe and China do they all have the same ambition, to destroy the infidel US?

[michael03332002]

Hey TOM, how dare you

PROVIDE A LINK

<VBG>

GEEZ, the gall

LOL

M

[Babylon]

Saddam and others are not unlike the teenager. If we don't enforce our rules, the next offense will be worse, and the next offense after that will be even worse.

Part of the problem is we think the world is our teenager, and our fellow mankind doesn't care for that type of control nor relationship. Secondly, and probably more importantly is, "the rules" you're pointing out. Those rules can be construed by any Nation as cause for War with the cloak of premptive attack on its face. Not all law is good law.

[Zeev Hed]

I think you are wrong, France knows which side of their bread slice is buttered, and they fear (wrongly, IMHO) that our involvement with Iraq will endanger their about a billion a year of trade with Iraq. It was France that supplied the nuclear reactor capable of producing fissile Pt, and they knew very well what for that reactor was. Frankly, I think the Israeli took out that reactor more because they were pissed off that their own design and technology was falling into Saddam's hands... (g). People forget that from about 1954 to around 1962, Israel's arm supplier were the French (common enemy at the time, Arab extremists) and they had a joint nuclear program. Now, don't blame the French too much, since we are not completely clean of that sin either, we did supply Iraq with all the "necessities" to fight Iran including some very nasty stuff... Maybe we did learn a little from the French? (g).

As for the rest of your post, I agree that a way to depose despots in the region that have no respect for human life (and that includes not just Saddam, but some Suddani and Lybian dictators as well) must be found, but I fear that a deposition from the outside by force, will create unintended consequences, including lowering the bar for future armed conflicts everywhere in the world. Guess what, there are some whispers that Sharraf may no longer have the support of the Pakistani Army, what if Pakistan yields to extreme Islam? What happens to his nuclear weapons?

Are we going to go after every despot that lacks respect for human life? Where do we stop?

Zeev