> Behalf Of J. van Baardwijk
> No, taking over countries doesn't count as self-defence, but I never
said
> it was. I wasn't even arguing about that. I believe that in a
potential
> conflict, both sides have the right to defend themselves --
apparently, you
> don't believe that.
>
> You argue that is was morally right for the West to defend itself
against
> the East (by having a huge military presence along the entire border
with
> the Eastern block), but that is was morally wrong for the East to
have a
> huge military presence on their side of that same border. That is
> absolutely ridiculous. We are allowed to defend ourselves, but they
aren't?
> Puh-lease. Why should they have any less right to defend themselves?
> Because they weren't capitalists? Because they were called "evil"?
(What do
> you think the West was called in the Eastern Block, huh? Exactly:
evil.)
> Jeroen
The problem, Jeroen, is that the Soviet Union "protected" itself by
_occupying_ Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and
East Germany. I may be forgetting a few countries. It then
established dictatorial puppet regimes in those countries. The people
of those countries _had no choice_ about whether Soviet forces were to
stay there. They never got to vote - they were never even allowed to
_express_ their opinion because those Soviet puppet governments denied
them small things like the freedom of speech, press, and religion.
When they attempted to throw the Soviets out - in 1956 in Hungary, and
in 1968 in Czechoslovakia - the were _massacred_ by Soviet tanks. You
have yet to respond to this point. How is it "protecting yourself" to
conquer 6 countries and keep your soldiers there - against the wishes
of the people in those countries? How is that _any_ different from
Nazi Germany in Poland in 1939, or France in 1940? By your standard,
Nazi Germany was only protecting itself.
********************Gautam "Ulysses" Mukunda**********************
* Harvard College Class of '01 *He either fears his fate too much*
* www.fas.harvard.edu/~mukunda * Or his deserts are small, *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Who dares not put it to the touch*
* "Freedom is not Free" * To win or lose it all. *
******************************************************************
