At 10:43 PM 4/2/2003 -0800 d.brin wrote:
>1. I was being sardonic about attacking Riyadh. Just recognizing
>their enmity would enable us to demand that they choose between their
>mansions and jihad.
And if this Saudis refuse this demand, then what? How do you plan to back
up your threats? I think that this leaves you right back and having to
consider an attack on Riyadh - and I think that given the long list of
danger such an attack would entail without the federal republic of Iraq
with an ally would definitely lead the Saudis to cal our bluff.
>2. Our forces were 24 hours from liberating Basra in 1991. With that
>city and the rest of southern Iraq safe, and the kurdish north safe,
>Saddam would have had no oil and no victims. We could have then
>sifted through our 200,000 prisoners for enough to make several eager
>divisions of the Army of New Iraq and sent THEM to Baghdad. Or let
>Saddam stew till someone shot him. With no oil, and steadily
>strengthening Shiite and Kurdish republics hemming him in, his days
>would be numbered.
>
>It was a no-brainer.
Dr. Brin, you have previously cited a major risk for the US in the Middle
East the possibility that the US might enflame enmity between Muslims and
Arabs and us. Out of curiosity, how do you think the Arab world react to
the United States carving up Sunni Arab Iraq and handing the most oil-rich
parts to arbitrarily US-formed Shia and Kurdish-minority States? Might
not a great many ordinary Arabs regard these new States as being
essentially US-colonies and also be quite upset at the "new Palestine" in
which Arab land is handed by Western Powers to "others?"
Additionally, you have previously cited a major risk for the United States
to be acting without a sufficient number of allies. Out of curiosity, how
many allies do you think we would have had supporting us in carving up Iraq
in this way? Indeed, how many Arab allies would have even let us evict
Iraq from Kuwait had we made this our policy?
>And you will never, ever see a Bush make a
>decision that harms the interests of a Saudi prince.
Out of curiosity, how many Saudi Princes have you seen support this war?
Indeed, let me go one step further, how many Saudi Princes have you seen do
anything but campaign *heavily* against starting this war?
JDG
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
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