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Originally Posted by mcgeedo
My first thought is: "What are the alternatives?"
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Myriad. With Iran, the best option is clearly to butt out. If they're attacking someone, we blow up their military installations, but demonizing them every 3 seconds only galvanizes anti-west sentiment. Iranians hate the US because we won't leave them alone. Americans probably aren't really happy about the idea of war with Iran. You'd think the best option would be obvious.
With Saudi Arabia, we actually have more stability with a monarchy than we would with democracy. That kinda demonstrates my point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgeedo
I suppose we could leave them to their own devices, and deal with whatever forms of government evolve (or might be imposed upon them from other, less altruistic countries). I'm specifically thinking of abandoning Iraq to whatever Iran might have in mind for it.?
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Are we talking Iraq now or 10 years ago?
If we're talking about the late 90s, then the best option is to keep supporting and nudging the UN. The inspectors were clearly doing a good job, and Saddam had steadily been losing power since Desert Storm. The time to step in would have been when there was an eventual uprising. Peacekeepers move in when it looks like Saddam is either about to commit genocide or is about to lose. We control the situation, but with an exit strategy already in place. We stay for maybe a month to calm things down and clean it up, like Desert Storm.
Now? Well that's easy. Withdrawing troops, which are an inflammatory presence, will likely cool hatred towards the west. We go on our hands and knees to allies and the UN and beg for forgiveness and help, and an international, truly multi-lateral solution is sought.