At 08:18 PM 11/9/2003 -0800 Doug Pensinger wrote:
>The problem is, neither do we. In invading Iraq in the manner we did,
>without the support of the UN or even all of our NATO allies,
I am sure that if *NATO* had authorized the attack on Iraq, everything
would be hunky-dory in Fallujah and elsewhere right now.
> and with
>little evidence that Hussain was involved in terrorist attacks against the
>West
O.k. so, either:
1) Israel is not part of "the West."
2) If only Saddam Hussein had funded the IRA, *then* everything would be
hunky-dory in Fallujah right now.
> (and of course the complete lack of WMDs in Iraq), we have invited
>skepticism with respect to our motives.
O.k., so if we had fonud the barrels of anthrax and botulin (which, by the
way, the United Nations says are still unaccounted for), *then* everything
would be hunky-dory in Fallujah right now, right?
I'm sorry, but I disagree with all three of these predictions.... as
Gautam is fond of pointing out - why do you consistently imagine that
terrorists think like you do and share your concerns? Isn't it far more
likely that terrorists think in ways that are fundamentally different from
your own???
What I find most amazing is that all you opponents of the war talked about
how hard it would be to rebuild Iraq before the war, and many proponents of
the war agreed - but argued that it would be harder for America to leave
Saddam Hussein in power, with no way of really controlling his next move,
and the always-imminent possibility that he might acquire nuclear weapons
right underneath our noses the way the North Koreans did. Anyhow, sure
enough, rebuilding Iraq has been hard - and all you opponents of the war
seem almost *shocked* by this development. Well, no kidding.... and
moreover, give the stakes for Western Civilization in rebuilding Iraq - how
about showing a little resolve in the face of those terrorists who want to
return 38million just-liberated people to dictatorship and oppression???
How about being just a little-less defeatist about the inevitablility of
our failures in Iraq - which I must say it almost looks like you are
secretly hoping for? Of course, you'd rather spend more time engaging in
recriminations and bashing of the Bush Administration.
Oh and in the vein of socio-political groups that do not criticize their
own extremists - I would note that for all of the opponents of the war on
this List and other List Members who talked about how important it was to
have a "Marshall Plan" for Iraq - the silence regarding the Democratic-lead
effort to make US aid to Iraq a "loan" instead of a grant was deafening.
I'd like to thank whomever it was (maybe it was Doug or Julia?) who tried
to turn this thread into a constructive discussion of how to handle
terrorist threats in places like Northern Ireland (and Iraq) - at least
that's an honest recognition of the problem. Indeed, I have to give
credit to Howard Dean, who for all his bashing of the Bush Administration,
at least recognizes that America in this fight, and even though Howard Dean
(wrongly :) did not want to be in it, he at least emphasizes that he
recognizes that now we have to win it - whether he or Bush is president in
2004.
JDG - Who is bummed that Doug Pensinger will probably never see this
message. His loss, I guess.....
_______________________________________________________
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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