Originally posted by: Spagina
Originally posted by: lowtech
I love this argument, it is the ultimate copout. One of the reasons we would hate to see Iraq acquire WMD, or any other country for that matter, is:
1. We know firsthand how devastating these weapons are.
2. We know how much nuclear weapons can destabilize regions. Why do you think the US and USSR have been working for years to help eliminate a lot of the stockpiles of nukes. The United States and Russia look at these weapons as DETERRENTS. Irresponsible nations like India, Pakistan, and pretty soon Iraq look at these weapons as reasonable tactical options. That is extremely unsettling when you have these crazy bastards on TV bragging about wanting to use the nukes. With someone like Hussein who has gassed his own populace, if he acquired a nuclear bomb, all bets are off. He WOULD use it eventually. Against us, against Israel, who knows, but with Hussein, it's a clear and present option for him.
1. So? He does not have any way of threatening us with them. Even if he did, he wouldn't. Most people in Iraq other than the Kurds like Saddam. He is not a nice guy or anything, but I don't think we have the right to take out another country just because they are developing nuclear weapons.
2. There are other countries in the middle east with nuclear weapons. It has not destabalized the region any more than it already was.
Isreal does not see any reason to go after Saddam. They are a lot more treatened by it then we are. If they aren't worried, why should we be?
I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is live in fear of a gas, nuke, or biological attacks on my city or country. If my government has the means necessary to resolve the problem, then I say go for it. The way this situation with Iraq will pan out is one of two ways.
Either the United States and it's few allies not in bed with Iraq take Hussein now and deal with the international outcry for taking Iraq, or...
we wait acouple years, then Hussein either provides the means for organizations to nuke or gas the US or nuke and gas Israel or he'll do it himself, and everyone will scream "Why didn't you take him out sooner?" (e.g. Sept. 11 and Bin Laden in the Clinton Years.)
You obviously didn't read my link about Sept 11. Bin Laden could have been taken out long ago if Bush really wanted him dead. He was in an American hospital a month before Sep 11 and was visited by the CIA. The CIA could have had his head on a platter if they wanted it.
The guy with the Pakistani ISI who helped fund the Sep 11 attacks came to Washington on Sep 4 to meet with the Bush administration. He was sitting down with Powell on the morning of Sep 11.
Bin Laden is a terrorist trained by the United States CIA. If the Sep 11 attacks were done by him (which I am not sure they were), it was done with the knowledge of the Bush administration (and most likely support). The Sep 11 attacks have allowed the Bush administration to accomplish things Republicans have been working on for decades. All in the last year!
The reason we are in Afghanistan has nothing to do with terrorism. The main reason we are there is for oil. The oil industry has had plans to establish an oil pipeline through Afghanistan since 1996 and has been planning military involvement there. Bush and most of his administration has personal financial interests in the oil industry. The two people he is supporting for leadership of the government he wants to put in place are former employees of oil companies.
We are spending who knows how much tax payer money, greatly increasing our national debt (Bush is following in Reagan's steps here), and pissing off the world all for the personal financial gain of the Bush administration. And the American people are supporting him, because he is doing it to fight the terrorism he is responsible for.
Anyone who thinks Bush is stupid is very much wrong. He wants people to think he is stupid. There is no way if he was stupid he could be accomplishing what he is doing, even with the help of staff.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather see it happen now. I DON'T want to see the day when any allah-praising nutso has clear access to WMD. We have an obligation to our kids and their kids not to allow these people to do anymore damage than they've already done. It's time someone in this world finally grew the balls to do what is right.
A real Muslim does not believe in killing others. This terrorism belief in the region is actually rather recent. For some reason, it actually started about 20 years ago when the CIA established some religion based terrorist training camps in the region.
We have an obligation to our children to wake up to what our government is really doing and clean it up. We have an obligation towards being nice to rest of the world and creating a world where our children will want to live.
I want a government that's foreign policy is based on improving the world. Right now even when we donate food (that's supposed to be a nice thing right?) we do it out of greed. Rather than what we did with Zimbabwe(sp?). For those unaware, they are currently suffering a famine and food shortage. This is actually abnormal for them, usually they are a large food exporter with a particularly large export of corn. Now to "help them out" the US sent over a shipment of corn. They had to refuse the shipment. You see, the corn we sent was bioengineered corn and the intellectual property of US corporations. Zimbabwe knew this and requested that the corn be processed and the seeds removed, otherwise the entire corn industry in Zimbabwe would become the property of US corporations. As this is their main export and income, it would destroy the future economic system of the country. The US refused to process the corn, claiming it would be too expensive. One US official responded (I think it was Colin Powell, but I don't remember for sure) with the cliche, "beggars can't be choosers." I cannot believe the audacity of our current administration. It makes me sick.