[thechat] Invade Iraq?

[Martin Burns]

On Wed, 21 Aug 2002, Ken Kogler wrote:

> > Does George II have a thing for Iraq?
>
> Finish what Daddy started?
> Complete his family's legacy? ("the Bush boys brought down Iraq")
> Show up Daddy? Do something he couldn't?

Or rather *chose not to* do. And while Bush I is careful not to
personally talk about what W should do, some very close people to him
*are* saying what a bad idea it is (like Bush I's Nat Security Advisor).
Sounds like a message by proxy to me...

Some points which I'm hoping Bush is just ignoring, rather than being so
badly advised not to know about them:
1) The original message was "We suspect you have weapons of mass
destruction. Let our inspectors in or we'll attack." Now it's "We're going
to attack anyway." I'm wondering how the certainty of attack is supposed
to be a deterrent to using them...

2) If attacking Iraq is in part predicated on Saddam being a dictator who
doesn't recognise democracy, can someone please explain why Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia are our allies?

3) Assuming we attack and win, how are we going to do better in
establishing a mature democracy in Iraq than we've done elsewhere? Who
exactly is going to be put in place of Saddam? I very much doubt whether
Bush sees there's any better alternative than being an occupying power,
and look how good at that we are...

> I'm a bit cynical about this whole War on Terror -- I don't like it, and
> I think America is abusing it's power.

I think a large part of it is establishing America's credibility. Which is
all very well, but establishing credibility by killing people doesn't
really sound like the behaviour of a righteous nation such as the one the
US claims to be.

> if enough people start telling Dubya/Ashcroft/Rumsfeld
> that this is a bad idea and we don't support their actions, then maybe
> -- just maybe -- things will change.

Sounds awfully familiar to me. Do you plan to have a demonstration
circling the Pentagon and placing flowers in the barrels of the rifles
facing you by any chance?

Cheers
Martin

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