War on Iraq?

Lots of talk here, but no mention of Sept 11th.

In my view, the West in general had a relatively non-aggressive policy, only intervening to resist aggression from other countries eg Iraq - Kuwait. They have made some serious errors of judgement in the past, of course, and have on many occasions "backed the wrong horse". However, I do not feel that any future civilisation will condemn us for our free and democratic society, or believe that violent or oppressive dictatorships were better.

True, there are lots of double standards, such as there failure to intervene when China invaded Tibet - however, the oil is a factor - politicians have a duty firstly to protect their citizens, then to protect their interests - there is simply no getting away from the fact that oil is crucial to the continuation of our society - not just business, but schools, hospitals, etc, etc.

The US did not have a mandate from the UN to invade Iraq and "finish off" Saddam, hence did not do so. This was also necessary in order not to upset the Arab world. With hindsight it was a mistake, but a mistake made from the best intentions.

Instead, a policy of containment was implemented, assuming that Saddam could do little harm from so far away, and would not ever use the weapons he was known to have.

Sept 11th changed all that, making the west realise that their enemies would stop at nothing to kill and maim them in as large numbers as possible. That is why we now face war.

One important point is to regard the weapons inspectors as auditors - if you have auditors into a company, their job is to identify whether the accounts have been fiddled, not to find the missing cash under someone's bed at their house.

I do not believe the evidence thus far is actually sufficient under normal circumstances, and entirely understand people's reservations. However, I am confident that it remains the right decision, and we will only know after the event the danger we were/are in.

When all is said and done, I do not believe that Tony Blair would involve the UK in such a major war, unless he knew that it was the right thing to do.

Ali

Apparently the rat has already paid millions for his bolt-hole.....what does that say. What a world. Sadly war seems inevitable. I am frightened for the future. Todays technology will show us live pictures of people dying, being bombed, shot or choked and burned by toxic gases and chemicals. Surely this despot knows the game is up. He can't possibly come out of this smelling like roses. It's suicidal, as soon as America strikes the first blow, with or without UN sanction Saddam will throw crap at Israel, he want's to go down in a blaze of glory and take all his loyal people with him. If Saddam succesfully gets a missile into Tel-Aviv and takes out a couple of million jews it will be a massive victory for the arab world, Israel will retaliate with an all out assault on the Palestinians, attempting to take out Yasser Arafat. That would give America all the provocation it needed to lob a tactical nuke into Bahgdad, maybe one or two megaton. You'd be able to live there in a few hundred years. Won't be long now.....

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Refereing to our Chancellor's NO to the war, there was just a caricature in our newspaper on which you can see an US tank in front of our Parliament building in Berlin. Out of the tank GW Bush shouts, "SEND YOUR CHANCELLOR INTO EXILE OR WE'LL ATTACK!"

Once they overcome Saddam, what next? Who will be the next not to fit into their concept of a "peaceful world"?

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

Lots of talk here, but no mention of Sept 11th.

History does not start at Sept 11th. This event is a part of a bigger picture, not its origin. The difficult relations between the USA and the Arabian world did not just come out of the blue. It has a long tradition, full of mistakes, misunderstandings and manipulations from third parties.

If Sept 11th was a card blanche to justify war, what would you say if Vietnam chooses to retaliate the countless crimes committed by GIs? What if Tel Aviv chooses to rain Berlin with shells? What if Africa attacks the western world because of slavery? Who talks about the Native American Indians, or the South American Indians?

Don't tell me this doesn't count because it all happened a long time ago. I may remind you that history has a long-term memory and things not always lead to immediate responses. Sometimes it takes a few years, sometimes even a hundred years and more. History is very patient, since it has enough time - but it does not forget.

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

Not saying history started with Sept 11th, simply that the rules of engagement did.

I agree many current feuds have their roots in ancient history - the middle east situation goes back to biblical times, which is crazy for a supposedly civilised world, and I think the Israelis are certainly far from blameless for the current situation.

My view is that traditionally an enemy was rated by the size of its army and the sophistication of its weaponry. Sept 11th proved that a small number of warped fanatics if left to their own devices could and would orchestrate a truly cataclysmic attack on innocent civilians, and that, very reluctantly, pre-emptive measures are necessary to prevent this happening in Iraq.

The fact that Saddam hasn't done anything in the last 12 years is pretty much irrelevant - as you say, revenge is a dish best served cold, and he may well be waiting for the weaponry to launch the level of attack he dreams of. This bloke does not fight according to the Queensbury rules.

Ali

as you say, revenge is a dish best served cold

I just said it is not always best being served hot. If you ask me, it is a dish I could completely do without.

This bloke does not fight according to the Queensbury rules.

No, he certainly doesn't. But why are we about to attack Sadam without a REAL proof and not North Korea where we have proof? Maybe an asian country is something the lobby behind US government/military is not interested in ...



Post Edited (02-07-03 18:19)

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

It's suicidal, as soon as America strikes the first blow, with or without UN sanction Saddam will throw crap at Israel, he want's to go down in a blaze of glory and take all his loyal people with him. If Saddam succesfully gets a missile into Tel-Aviv and takes out a couple of million jews it will be a massive victory for the arab world, Israel will retaliate with an all out assault on the Palestinians, attempting to take out Yasser Arafat. That would give America all the provocation it needed to lob a tactical nuke into Bahgdad, maybe one or two megaton. You'd be able to live there in a few hundred years. Won't be long now.....

From another forum:

WERE GOING TO WAR AND POSSIBLY SETTING THE WORLD ON FIRE BECOUSE WE THINK (SINCE WHEN DO LAWYERS DO ANYTHING UNLESS ITS FACT) HE MIGHT HAVE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND MIGHT (THERE THAT WORD AGAIN) USE THEM ON US . WELL LET ME CLUE YOU IN, YOU GO TO WAR PUSH HIM INTO A CORNER AND HE"LL USE THOSE WEAPONS YOU THINK HE MIGHT HAVE, AND NOT JUST ON OUR TROOPS BUT ISREAL AS WELL. THEN MY FRIENDS WE HAVE A SITUATION YOU CAN READ UP ON , ITS IN THE BACK OF THE BIBLE ,CHAPTER CALLED REVELATION.

"THE ANTICHRIST WILL REBUILD BABYLON"..HOLY BIBLE

THATS ANCIENT BAGHDAD IF YOU WANTED TO KNO

I didn't know that Baghdad was ancient Babylon?

Once they overcome Saddam, what next? Who will be the next not to fit into their concept of a "peaceful world"?

I might be wrong but I fear we are already the next. Maybe it is just by chance but as soon as the

Be ready!

being from the US

i say no to war....let the UN prove it that he as weapons of mass destruction first then decide what to do....remember weapons of mass destruction and not just 1 bomb....many bombs!!!

i think we should of finished of off awhile back....now its too late

like this father learned in his re-election attempt against Clinton.....


Its the economy stupid!!!

just to be different


lets blow the whole world up, who cares :D

Yeah, f*ck the world. I hate this planet anyway. Are you ready for World War 3?

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS