Iraq.
A lot of this is mute now, but Bush, the son, did a lot of things right at first. Go to the U.N., use the Security Council, get a coalition. It was the French that said no, not under any conditions could they vote for a resolution that would endorse invasion. That, ironically, triggered the invasion. The American leadership, not being able to risk some permutation of bin Laden and friends getting some WMD's from Saddam felt that they no alternatative, but to invade. Now, don't forget, every and I mean every intelligence service in the world believed he had chemical and biological weapons. I didn't think he had enough money or infrastructure to support a nuclear program, especially under the sanctions Iraq was under, but hey look at North Korea and Pakistan. What I really don't understand is why this wasn't done in 1991 with Bush, the father. The Allies would have been greeted as liberators and Iraq would be free and stable by now. Am I glad Saddam is out of power, yes. He slaughtered about 100,000 of his own people every year and he supported terrorism(though he had no involvement with the attacks on America in 2001). Now, I'm no Bush, the son, fan either. I only give him one nod. At least he's a leader who leads. I'm sick of leaders who do nothing. I don't agree with what he's done or how he's done it. But at least he's leading. One of my personal credos is if people are dying and theres a way to stop it--then stop it! The slaughter in Rwanda, to me, is an example of how Humanity can fail. People were dying, and sadly, still are, dying in Iraq but the drafting of the Constitution and the electing of the new Government are solid first steps. I believe the new Government will ask the Americans to leave by the fall of 2006.
In all practical terms the success or failure of post-Saddam Iraq is up to the Iraqis themselves. The most recent positive sign was the elections--where under death threat, 60+ plus percent went out and voted. Also, the Sunnis are going to be more involved the next time. Thats good. I wish I could explain to them about how its at the local level i.e. municipal, county that so much of the real power lies. In Canada, a majority in one area but a minority in the country wields a lot of power. Now I know some Ontarians will quibble but politically most things hinge on Quebec. Its the fulcrum is what I essentially mean and the Sunnis could have that too.
A lot of this is mute now, but Bush, the son, did a lot of things right at first. Go to the U.N., use the Security Council, get a coalition. It was the French that said no, not under any conditions could they vote for a resolution that would endorse invasion. That, ironically, triggered the invasion. The American leadership, not being able to risk some permutation of bin Laden and friends getting some WMD's from Saddam felt that they no alternatative, but to invade. Now, don't forget, every and I mean every intelligence service in the world believed he had chemical and biological weapons. I didn't think he had enough money or infrastructure to support a nuclear program, especially under the sanctions Iraq was under, but hey look at North Korea and Pakistan. What I really don't understand is why this wasn't done in 1991 with Bush, the father. The Allies would have been greeted as liberators and Iraq would be free and stable by now. Am I glad Saddam is out of power, yes. He slaughtered about 100,000 of his own people every year and he supported terrorism(though he had no involvement with the attacks on America in 2001). Now, I'm no Bush, the son, fan either. I only give him one nod. At least he's a leader who leads. I'm sick of leaders who do nothing. I don't agree with what he's done or how he's done it. But at least he's leading. One of my personal credos is if people are dying and theres a way to stop it--then stop it! The slaughter in Rwanda, to me, is an example of how Humanity can fail. People were dying, and sadly, still are, dying in Iraq but the drafting of the Constitution and the electing of the new Government are solid first steps. I believe the new Government will ask the Americans to leave by the fall of 2006.
In all practical terms the success or failure of post-Saddam Iraq is up to the Iraqis themselves. The most recent positive sign was the elections--where under death threat, 60+ plus percent went out and voted. Also, the Sunnis are going to be more involved the next time. Thats good. I wish I could explain to them about how its at the local level i.e. municipal, county that so much of the real power lies. In Canada, a majority in one area but a minority in the country wields a lot of power. Now I know some Ontarians will quibble but politically most things hinge on Quebec. Its the fulcrum is what I essentially mean and the Sunnis could have that too.
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