"the humanitarian case for removal of Hussein was much, much stronger."
Yes, if the argument worked for Kosovo it was equally valid for Iraq. However by making the argument about WMD's the politicians are suffering because they have been proved wrong.
As far as the UN is concerned I agree it needs some serious reform. However I still think it could of worked (it did for the first Gulf war) but it was never given the chance. It depends what spin you attribute to the French position. You can't trash the system in the *middle* of a crisis. Maybe something sensible will happen once the dust has settled.
"As for the world not being safer, it was not safe before Iraq."
I agree, however the argument GW seems to want to make is that the world is safer after Gulf War II than before. Just looking at the casualties caused by terrorist bombs post-Invasion would seem to indicate otherwise. And thats before you count a 1/3rd of all kills by US forces which are civilians. Of course the fighting is all over in the Middle East at the moment which may be the point - its not on US soil.
A free and democratic Iraq will be a help to helping quell extremist Islam in the Middle East. However the policies GW adopted haven't made it more likely.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-05 05:56 (UTC)Yes, if the argument worked for Kosovo it was equally valid for Iraq. However by making the argument about WMD's the politicians are suffering because they have been proved wrong.
As far as the UN is concerned I agree it needs some serious reform. However I still think it could of worked (it did for the first Gulf war) but it was never given the chance. It depends what spin you attribute to the French position. You can't trash the system in the *middle* of a crisis. Maybe something sensible will happen once the dust has settled.
"As for the world not being safer, it was not safe before Iraq."
I agree, however the argument GW seems to want to make is that the world is safer after Gulf War II than before. Just looking at the casualties caused by terrorist bombs post-Invasion would seem to indicate otherwise. And thats before you count a 1/3rd of all kills by US forces which are civilians. Of course the fighting is all over in the Middle East at the moment which may be the point - its not on US soil.
A free and democratic Iraq will be a help to helping quell extremist Islam in the Middle East. However the policies GW adopted haven't made it more likely.