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Originally Posted by powerclown
Fair enough. He's a terrible salesman, I'll grant you that. But look beyond the lousy sales pitch. There was a window of opportunity there that needed to be exploited - however awkwardly it was justified.
Do you not see a need for reform in the Middle East? Are lazy, corrupt monarchies, suppressive dictatorships and religious theocracies really the types of governments able to bring out the best in their people and put their natural resources to good use?
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This is a classic example of the world police "we're right and everybody else better be just like us or we'll kick your ass" attitude that's gotten this country in so much trouble so many times in history. It's their country, not ours, and it's none of our damn business. Not only that, our actions are directly leading to a massive civil war in Iraq. Toppling Saddam destabilized the entire region. This is a quagmire your grandchildren will still be dealing with long after you and I are dead.
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Should this part of the world be offered outside assistance in establishing more productive forms of societies,
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Sure. Offer it. Don't force it on them with tanks and bombers. Big, BIG difference.
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or should the rest of the world continue to play dice with dictators while their countries lay in ruin, and their oil is wasted?
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And we get to the root reason so many support(ed) this war. Oil. It's their oil. Much as we'd like it to be, it's not our oil. Invading Iraq to secure the oil is no different than Iraq invading Kuwait to secure the oil.
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Wouldn't strong economic development in the Middle East - and the empowerment it would bring to the average citizen - be the best weapon against hopelessness and despair, against al-Qaeda?
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K. First, where IS that strong economic development. The only strong development we've had is in al Qaeda. Second, Saudi Arabia is strongly developed economically. They're doing quite well off of their oil, thank you, and yet they still harbor and train terrorists who attack around the world, including us.
The short answer to your questions is: We do not have the right to overturn another government just because it offends our delicate sensibilities. We do not have that right even if we have the power to do it. The United States has not only made a huge blunder as far as the stability of that region, and the world, is concerned, it has also unjustly destroyed a foreign government. I don't care how bad that government was, it was not our government to destroy.
You can justify the iraq war all you want with talk of bringing democracy to the people (they didn't want it) or bringing prosperity to the people (they still don't have it), but that does not change the fact that the United States mugged Iraq just because it could.
Besides, don't you think it's rather ironic that we say "hey Iraq, we think a system in which you are free to choose your own destiny is the best system, so we're not giving you a choice - we're going to FORCE that system on you."
Sounds pretty convoluted to me.