I am presently looking at CNN on a Tuesday evening and the headline is Iraq, Success or Failure? That to me seems beside the point. Since our current president decided to invade this Middle Eastern country, 5 years ago, the bigger question is who has been impacted the most. Let's see: 1. The price of gas is over $3 a gallon (as of yesterday when I drove into Salem, MA its $3.13); 2. Consumer prices have risen dramatically parallel to the rise in gas prices (my rent will increase $20 more dollars a month); 3. 3500+ U.S. men and women have lost their lives and thousands more have been injured physically and mentally; 4. Thousands of Iraqi men, women and children (estimates 100,000 to 350,000); 4. Civil Liberties guaranteed by the constitution have been revoked all in the name of battling terrorism; 5. The U.S. is hated more today than when our current president came into office in 2000(France, Germany, Bolivia, Ecuador, etc); 6. The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005(not enough National Guard troops since they are in Iraq); 7. Osma Bin Laden has he been captured; 8. Guatanamo Bay Secret Prisons; etc.
The list can go on. One of my conservative friends (MC) will defend the actions of our current president and I respect his opinion, but the fact is that Iraq does not equal 9/11. Also the situation of Afghanistan is worsening since all our troops are elsewhere. Iraq is the Vietnam of the 21st century, hopefully we will learn our lessons before anyone else is impacted.
4 comments:
Yo, Moron, How many times to I have to repeat myself. Hussein madee no secret of the fact that he would use all means at his disposal to bring harm to Americans. Though the administration, though may have overly triend to demonstrate a link between two Suni Militants - Hussein (Pan Arabic) & Bin Ladden (Saudi), is it obvious that Hussein demonstrated a clear and present danger, paqrticluarly with his shuttle game with U.N. inspectors, to the U.S.
The U.S. probably calculated up to 10,000 US casualties with such an invasion. It really doesn't matter = Hussein, as you and I have both assented multiple times, had a distinct track recod - assassinating politcal opponents, invasion of Iran, invasion of Kuwait, firing SAM missiles at U.N. aircraft,
Remember, has a head of state, you need to look strategically at the big picture.
=)
Ok, take 2... =)
Professor Enrique,
I would also like to see your evaluation of the following to demonstrate, in my opinion, a more balanced, realist view...
a)) Hussein made no secret of the fact that he would use all means at his disposal to bring harm to Americans. He even wrote novels about it.
b) Though the administration may have overly tried to demonstrate a link between two Suni Militants - Hussein (Pan Arabic) & Bin Ladden (Saudi), what dangers were posed by Hussein with his shuttle game with U.N. inspectors?
c) The U.S. probably calculated up to 10,000 US casualties with such an invasion so I would argue that you are actually underestimating the cost that the administration considered worth removing Hussein for.
Based on Hussein's demonstrated track record, and based on the administrations assessmnet that Hussein, unchecked, could contruct a dirty bomb in about two years, what action should have been taken to prevent this, given Hussein's distinct track record - assassinating political opponents, invasion of Iran, invasion of Kuwait, and firing SAM missiles at U.N. aircraft?
Do you believe, as I do, that different approaches should be used in de-escalating conflicts with and within Iraq, Iran, and North Korea Do you believe that different approaches should be taken with different ruling bodies of different countries? Do you believe that negotiating with Saddam would have lead to a brighter future for Iraq? If you believe that a negotiation with Hussein, which would arguably involved a different approach from negotiating with/addressing Bin Ladden, how would extended sanctions have lead to a brighter future for Iraqi's and world citizens? Iran would have served as a deterrent to Saddam's hypothetical future regime, but is it not plausible that Hussein would have been able to developed a mechanism to deliver harm to Americans in two or more years under such sanctions and would the risk to the lives of other be less?
=)
The lst comment was not made by myself but rather Mikeofearthsea.
Not really a recant, but sort of - Carlos is not a moron. Like all of us, Carlos has his point of view and, thus, emphasizes evidence in his way.
I still, tragically, would have made the same decision Bush did - as much as Bush is vilified in the eyes of my friends. And I applaud McCain for, before Obama, declaring a drop-dead date for troop withdrawals from Iraq. And, though many here and many in Iraq disagree, I believe Iraq will be better of than under the rule of the novelist who declared himself the next King Nebecanazzer(sp) with his documented secret police. And, I would argue that, though to a smaller scale, Hussein was just as vicious as Adolf Hitler.
However, after doing something small as burn a couple of finders in a household accident, I began to imagine myself without a leg or without a arm like a current co-worker and a past co-worker. And I began to think that even one death or injury, never mind 5000 u.s. soldiers, 5000 foreign soldiers, 200,000 Iraqis, is dire and tragic...
-moes
Post a Comment