Baghdad may have fallen but there is MUCH work to do!

[Gaard]

Originally posted by: DaveSohmer

"The UN will have a *vital* role in post-war Iraq"

I wonder if the same guidelines that were used to define "serious consequences" will be used to define "vital".

Don't be silly Dave. Everyone knows there can and is only ONE definition of 'vital'.

 

[Gaard]

I personally can't think of any reason why letting the UN take a part in rebuilding would be a bad thing. I'm not an authority so I may be wrong, but it seems like an undertaking of this magnitude would be expensive as hell. It seems to me that the more help we receive, the less expensive it becomes. I think a lot of opinions here are based on spite and aren't really thought thru.

Besides, I'm not so sure how our president feels about nation-building. text

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: ruazn2

Originally posted by: conjur
Well...good...they better get reading then!

43 Iraqi exiles/citizens to be in meeting

2/3 will be people currently living in Iraq.

Yes they better! So what difference would it make if we have the UN peacekeeper or the US military in there? You just need some troops to take care of public order until their own government is in place, and if your intent is to free Iraq then it shouldnt' matter who be the police is because its only temprary?

My biggest concern about a continued U.S. presence in Iraq (esp. military) is the perception by other Arab countries that we were there to invade (iow, conquer). The sooner we hand over the keys to stable Iraqi authority or government, the better off we'll be.

 

[conjur]

Like I said...we need a police force in there now!

 

[conjur]

Is this Baghdad or L.A.?

A youth wearing a red baseball cap back-to-front brandished an AK-47 assault rifle by the side of a main road in the center of the city, waiting for a passing car to hijack.

A Reuters correspondent who drove past the young man saw him shoot the driver of the car behind, drag him out his new pickup trunk and drive away in it. It was not clear whether the driver was killed or simply wounded.

"The situation has become worse since yesterday. It is anarchy," one Reuters correspondent said.

Another who toured the city said: "The looters are armed and are shooting at people. There are a lot of guns in the streets."

 

[conjur]

What is the best way to implement a police force in the cities in Iraq to prevent the looting and allow aid to reach the citizens (esp. the hospitals)? I don't think the Marines nor the Army infantry should be used. Fly in National Guard troops? What's the equivalent in Britain? Use UN peacekeeping forces to restraing the looting/lawlessness?