--- "d.brin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Let me remind you that in 1991 this same team > stopped our army 24 > hours from eliminating the problem altogether & > freeing the same > Iraqi people we are now supposed to be rescuing. > The difference > between now and WWII is that such people would not > be allowed to > commit similar errors 12 years later, like sending a > corps to do an > army's job.
I wonder, Dr. Brin, if you would accept a falsifiability test on this. Namely, if the United States scores a decisive and (by historical standards) rapid victory over the Iraqi military according to what is, to a large extent, Rumsfeld's plan, are you willing to acknowledge that you were wrong? Because I think that's what's about to happen, and I _don't_ think that they sent a Corps to do an Army's job. I think they realized that 250,000 American and 35,000 British soldiers were quite sufficient to get the rolling start of a revolutionary military campaign going - one that would (so far) conquer 50% of a country the size of California with fewer than 100 killed. Pretty good for a bunch of "bozos". Particularly given the fact that they only had about 50% of the forces they actually wanted - because the 4th Infantry was _supposed_ to be invading from Turkey right about now, and would have been doing so if not for France and Germany's threats to Turkey to exclude it from the European Union. Or is that all the responsibility of the Bush Administration as well? At what point do you give agency to other countries in the world that act on their own behalf, instead of solely in response to the United States? I'm also curious, btw, are you on record advocating continuing the attack in 1991? Lots of people who seem to think that was a good idea don't seem to have been saying so back then. The reason we stopped is very simple. James Baker gave the word of the United States of America that we were in the Persian Gulf to free Kuwait, not to overthrow Saddam. It was the only way we could get troops into the country. So, are you suggesting that the correct policy was to break that word and topple the Iraqi government then, and that this somehow would make us look _better_ to the Arab street? We are not France. The word of the United States is worth something, as various countries have found out over the past two centuries or so. Gautam __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
