Many coordinated explosions rocked Baghdad today, probably designed to show the US that it's business as usual in the third-world hell-hole now that we've pulled out entirely. The US military has no official presence in Iraq, preferring instead to run around Afghanistan being targets for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
If somebody can show me how the last 9 years in Iraq and 4,500 US lives was worth what is there now, I'd love to be entertained by it. Political and social reform in middle east countries is hopeless at best, and an exercise in utter futility and a colossal waste of resources at worst. What got accomplished? A rudimentary constitution was written, a fledgling coalition government formed, and a first ever election held....but to what end? The insurgent terrorists are still terrorizing the capital at will and the corrupt government is woefully inept in controlling them.
Saddam was a terrible guy and deserved to die, but how long before Islamic extremists begin to assert themselves into leadership roles in Iraq? My guess is not long.
10 comments:
@Ed "...third-world hell-hole...."
And who made Iraq a hell-hole? We did.
"Last week, the US pulled out its forces from Iraq, leaving a million Iraqis dead and about three millions in exile [600,000 of them, Christians - IAN].
After nine years of US occupation, 59 percent of households in Iraq rate their access to water as bad or very bad, 90 percent of the homes have to supplement the meager supply of electricity with costly generators and just 30 percent of homes have access to a sanitation network." ~George Galloway
No argument here, but they're still blowing each other up and destroying things without us.
@Ed "...they're still blowing each other up..."
Of course, they are. We created a power vacuum and triggered sectarian fighting that will last far into the future. That was our objective from the start.
That was not our intention, Isaac. We naively thought that by deposing Saddam, the Iraqis would self-evolve and embrace 21st century democracy and be a "shining city on the hill", an example toward which all the middle east would strive. That was our intent.
You are mistaking the stated reasons for the Iraq war for the REAL reasons, Ed. That aside, are you saying that it is O.K. for one nation to impose, by force of arms, a foreign way of life on another nation "for their own good"? Does that mean you would be cool with China attacking America just as long as the Chinese claimed to be doing it for our own good?
Absolutely not. The righteousness of deposing Saddam is debatable, but I disagree with imposing western-style democracy on a primitive nation that cannot embrace it.
But you are O.K. with imposing a foreign way of life on a nation that COULD embrace it?
No, I was just being harshly descriptive....as I am wont to be. If we invade any country to remove a tyrannical, blood-thirsty dictator, we should leave the country to its own devices and let the power vacuum be filled with whatever comes next.
Actually, rather than invading a country at all, we should rescind the law prohibiting the assassination of foreign leaders and resume our program of killing those world leaders who displease us. SEAL-6 could fill that role nicely.
And I'm only slightly exaggerating about that...I have no problem at all killing people who make trouble for the world.
@Ed "I have no problem at all killing people who make trouble for the world."
You mean people like:
George Bush?
Dick Cheney?
Don Rumsfeld?
Heh heh....touche' Isaac, touche'.
Are you defending Saddam Hussein? Are you suggesting that we should have stayed out of Iraq and let him slaughter people with poison gas, use rape rooms for the enjoyment of his perverted sons, and otherwise murder people by the thousands? Because either you think that's OK, or you think the US is compelled to do something about men like that.
Of course, we can only do something to men who don't possess nukes.
We shouldn't have invaded Iraq, but assissinating Saddam was certainly worth doing and righteous. And that's what we should have done.
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