Rowland I do not (and did not) disagree with you. My posting was actually adding a deeper dimensionto what you wrote. So why the sardonic comments? Lets keep the ad hominem stuff out the discussions and just discuss the issues.
Many people do not understand the import of the rule of law and think that it really has no strengtth or value. And that is what Bush thinks - he thinks the US is so powerful that he needs not even acknowledge the law. He even has an Attorney General (Gonzalez, the new one) who says that the President of the US is above the law - no one is above the law!! Apart from its massive power, what the US is supposed to stand for is that it holds the high moral ground and does not act illegally. The legalities are the main consequentials here because when the US went into Vietnam there was some sort of historical logic (WWII - Soviets are US allies, post WWII Soviets expand and take Eastern Europe basing themselves on Stalin's idea of spreading the revolution, ie communist who were our allies against Hitler betray us, we do not trust communists who then take over China and then try South Korea, in a war torn world US feels the world is threatened by communists who are actually taking over more countries so US resists communists - after all it has just come out of a terrible war in which it resisted tyranny - it is just that US loses its way and the perversions creep in - what teh Vietnam war became was something not to be proud of but to ignore how it started and base judgements of how it started on what it became is to miss the point). When the US invaded Iraq there was no historical logicality or excuse and it was illegal. It was clear when Powell led to the UN early last year that he was lying (this is not ex post facto wisdom - if you follow other lists to which I subscribe you will see my postings back as far as September 2002 saying that it was clear that Bush was going to go to war with Iraq whatever happened and that to do so was illegal, unjustified and immoral) The legalities are really the only thing which distinguishes the US (and like countries) from the dictatorships that it opposes and when the administration throws the legalities out the window you get the ham fisted outrages that we both deplore. Adherence to the legalities is the real point - and lack of adherence is the main cause of world outrage against the US. Adherence to legalities is the only thing which preserves the existence of many small countries. Adherence to the legalities (even lip service) is what has, until the illegal invasion of Iraq last year, kept the less powerful nations of the world free of fear of arbitrary military action by the powerful. Garth Cartledge At 03:30 AM 18/11/2004, you wrote: >On11/18/04 6:03 AM, Garth Cartledge wrote: > > The underlying difference between Iraq and Vietnam is that there is >no Soviet-backed "North Vietnam" > >Garth: >Let's not quibble about inconsequentials, okay? > >There was no reason (as it turned out) to go to Viet Nam and do exactly what >the French army did. Similiarly there is no reason to be flattening Iraq in >order to save it from Saddam (already captured), WMD (non existent), torture >of its citizens (what are WE doing?), or free elections...ha! > >You know the answer to that. Why not just send them our Diebold voting >machines? > >I was responding to the pictures. They weren't very good (as >photojournalism goes); but they did show the US' ham-fisted response to an >ugly, avoidable catastrophe. > >Rowland > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > ----- > / o o \ >===OO=====OO============================================= >(4)Portals (2)News Wikis (2)Conferences - No BuSHIT! >Start here: http://pnews.org/ (On Internet since 1982) >http://pnews.org/PhpWiki/ (West Coast News Wiki) >http://g0lem.net/PhpWiki/ (East Coast News Wiki) >========================================================= > FIGHT THE RIGHT! >================== > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > >-- >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >Version: 7.0.289 / Virus Database: 265.3.0 - Release Date: 13/11/2004 > > > > >-- >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >Version: 7.0.289 / Virus Database: 265.3.0 - Release Date: 13/11/2004 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. 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