Jeroen wrote:
> >Jeroen:
> >You sure know how to make others feel appreciated. Why did the US call on
> >other countries (pretty much the rest of the world) to join the war
against
> >Iraq, if those others would just "get in the way"? Was it because they
> >could make a valuable contribution, or was it because the US needed
cannon
> >fodder? ("Hey, why let the Iraqis kill US troops if we can get someone
else
> >to catch the bullets.")
> >
> >Me:
> >First - I'm not a spokesman for the US government. Thus I'm not
> >constrained by the need to lie in order to avoid wounding the delicate
> >sensibilities of other countries. I can tell the truth as it really is.
> >If the truth offends you, Jeroen, that's not my problem. I'm sorry, but
> >it's really not my problem.
>
> I would have expected better from you, Gautam. You are a student of
> international politics. You are the one here that wants to pursue a career
> in international politics; perhaps you even have the ambition to be
> appointed Ambassador some day. You of all people should know that careful
> phrasing is everything in that line of work. A ill-phrased statement (no
> matter how well-intended it was) has the potential to lead to an
> international incident.
But Gautam *never* said the US used (or wanted to use) other nations' troops
as cannon fodder. In fact, he quite clearly said the opposite. I will
attach his restatement of that which you must have accidentally snipped,
since I noticed you didn't respond to it:
"Second - I have repeatedly stated my belief - and shown how this has been
put into operational practice - that American soldiers need to take the
high-risk jobs. How did you make this into we use other people's soldiers
to catch bullets? Why did you state that, when there's simply no way to
read it into my text? You repeatedly state that you are not anti-American.
I'm certainly willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. How _should_ I
interpret what you wrote above, since it's meaning is directly opposite to
what I wrote, and what at least two other listmembers posted that they
believed I wrote?"
See? No reason to come down on Gautam at all, since he never said anything
insulting at all.
I'm sure you can apologize for that small misunderstanding now, right?
Adam C. Lipscomb
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never
hit
soft." - Teddy Roosevelt
