Is marching to Baghdad the right thing to do???

[theoak01]

Will this war stop terrorism or escalate it? What proof do we have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction? I have not heard anything but speculation thus far. What is our objective? People are already dying there by the thousands because of sanctions and malnutrition. Will inflicting war on them make them like us better or will it piss off a whole generation of people not only in Iraq but other countries?? If we do manage to take out Saddam, who will be his successor and what makes us think he will be U.S. friendly? Are we prepared to set up camp there and fire on people every time there is an insurgence?

exactly places like india and pakistan have wmd's and threaten to use them frequently on each other yet we say nothing because they are our new friends for helping with Afghanistan
China and Korea are places to watch aswell yet we go after Iraq,I dont support the war at all,It is a shame that many young people will die

 

[Ffactor]

This is not only about terrorism... Actually, I don't believe it's even PRIMARILY about terrorism. This is more about finally letting Sadaam know that we're tired of him thumbing his nose at the rest of the world and not obeying the agreements HE made with the UN and rules imposed by the US at the close of desert storm. For more than 10 years, he's been shooting at our planes, and basically giving the world the finger. The people over in Iraq that are dying, are dying because Sadaam is letting them die, and blaming sanctions.... His people are starving, yet he somehow manages to eat...hmmmm Sounds very reminiscent of Mohammed Farrah Aidid's regime in Somalia, but on a larger scale. To answer your question about how will we know if his successor will be US friendly is easy... We will occupy Iraq, just as we do Afghanistan, untl the government is stable enough to run on its own.

The current admiminstration has certainly spared no pains to link this to terrorism. From what I hear from the foreign press Afghnistan is already reverting back to the days of the warlords. If we go ahead and do this we will have to be prepared to take some drakonian measures that might have long reaching consequences including the US becoming more and more like Israel. An occupation of Iraq will further escalate the arms race and the proliferation of nuclear weapons because other countries will be concerned that we might do the same to them. Our foreign policy makers better think long and hard. They are the ones that have created this mess.

 

[FLASHMAN1]

The current admiminstration has certainly spared no pains to link this to terrorism. From what I hear from the foreign press Afghnistan is already reverting back to the days of the warlords. If we go ahead and do this we will have to be prepared to take some drakonian measures that might have long reaching consequences including the US becoming more and more like Israel. An occupation of Iraq will further escalate the arms race and the proliferation of nuclear weapons because other countries will be concerned that we might do the same to them. Our foreign policy makers better think long and hard. They are the ones that have created this mess.

Let me clarify a few things... I do not wholeheartedly believe in everything Bush does... I didn't vote for him, and I believe that a lot of the things that his administration does are just stupid. However, the link between Sadaam and terrorism, IMO, does exist. Maybe not that they're allies, because Bin Laden hates Hussein, but Iraq has the type of regime that will sell any and all WMD's, including the technology to make them to the highest bidder. That can't benefit ANYONE in the world.

Our foreign policy over the years has certianly not always been smart, but what government doesn't make mistakes??? If you were in a position to choose between Iran and Iraq of who to outwardly support during thier war, what would you have done?? There are a lot of things that we SHOULD stay out of, but as a prominent world power, we're in a lose/lose situation. If we do nothing or less, like the Clinton administration did, trying to live and let live, we're the bad guys because we're so strong and we're doing nothing. If we get involved, we're the bad guys because we're a big bully throwing our weight around. Like I said, lose/lose... I personally liked Clinton as a president, and I like SOME of the things that Bush says also. If the independents/libertarians could get more support, we'd probably be better off, but that, at least for now, won't happen, because the two major parties can't ever seem to find a happy medium... War sucks, any way you slice it, but sometimes it's a necessary evil.

 

[The Almighty]

I feel bad for the average person in those countries sometimes. They only know what they are allowed to hear and see, and usually that's thier governments' rhetoric

Sounds a lot like the good ol' U.S. of A. to me.

 

[FLASHMAN1]

Sounds a lot like the good ol' U.S. of A. to me.

What I meant was, they are not allowed to look at any other outlets. They are completely limited to thier government's point of view... As Americans, we can read, look at, listen to anything we want to. We are only limited by what we're willing to believe, not by our government's rules...

 

[The Almighty]

What I meant was, they are not allowed to look at any other outlets. They are completely limited to thier government's point of view... As Americans, we can read, look at, listen to anything we want to. We are only limited by what we're willing to believe, not by our government's rules...

Thats true.

Dont get me wrong here, I agree with some of the points you have made in this thread, however you have to admit that the American public is bombarded by propoganda bullshit from 9 out of 10 of the news networks...leading the majority to take what CNN says as the final word.

 

[FLASHMAN1]

Thats true.

Dont get me wrong here, I agree with some of the points you have made in this thread, however you have to admit that the American public is bombarded by propoganda bullshit from 9 out of 10 of the news networks...leading the majority to take what CNN says as the final word.

Absolutely. Every government involved is going to lace thier respective publics with all the propaganda possible to make them seem more right. The difference is, we have the oppurtunity to see both sides of the story, and they don't, that's why I feel sorry for them.