How is Saddam’s fall a bad thing?
Does anyone still doubt that this regime doesn’t abuse the War on Terrorism for their hidden agenda full of economic interests?
I am no Bush fan, but I do not think the war in Iraq is wrong. Look at the joy of the people who have been liberated. That is pretty damn hard to argue with.
What I find really interesting that France, Russia and other UN members want a big hand in rebuilding Iraq, but they wanted no part of liberating it. Could this be because some of those nations had significant pre-war economic interests with the old regime? Nooooo. Their concerns were entirely noble.
After all, Hussein had been so cooperative with UN weapons inspection since the end of the Gulf War. Sure, France and Russia had significant economic interests on deals with Saddam while turning a blind eye to his brutal treatment of the Iraqi people, but that could not have been the reason they opposed the war.
Before anyone is inclined to claim the U.S. helped create this mess, let me save you the trouble … I agree with you. That said, we paid the price on September 11, 2001. And now, the U.S. and our coalition partners are taking steps to clean up the mess. Like the much of the rest of the world, I would have rather the Iraqi people had risen up an thrown Saddam out themselves. However, the inhumane and oppressive nature of Hussein and the Ba’ath party becomes more clear with each passing day. Like Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo before him, Hussein had no interest in being a steward for his people, he only had an interest in making them his dutiful servants by any means neccesary.
As with those former dictators, the U.S. helped throw Hussein down. Ask Germany, Italy and Japan whether they are better off today. Also, ask their neighbors if their region is more stable now. Does America enjoy strong business relationships with each of those countries now? Yes. Do we rule those countries or extract any form of tax/repayment for the freedom now enjoyed. No. We do not. All we ask is that those countries do their part to help keep the world a safe, stable place.
For the record, I am no knee-jerk patriot. After I returned from a six week tour of the poorest parts of India in 1997, a close friend commented that I had come to disdain America. That stuck with me for a long time. In the ensuing years, I’ve reconciled that experience and come to the following conclusion. As a rule America does not know how fortunate we are.
We bemoan “problems” which, compared to circumstances faced by citizens of other nations, are really nothing. In short, America was falling into a pattern of selfish isolation. As both Afghanistan and Iraq are now free of oppressive regimes, I am glad we stepped up to the plate, but sad that it took the fall of the World Trade Center to get the ball rolling.
As mentioned earlier, I am no great fan of George W. Bush. From the circumstances surrounding his election to the continuing struggles of the U.S. economy; from the possible ties of this administration to Enron and other corporate scandal to the Republican push to restrict civil liberty and circumvent the Constitution in the name of Homeland Security; I have significant concerns about what Bush’s administration has planned for our great nation.
With those concerns on the table, I have to give Bush credit for not waffling on the issue of Iraq. Will the U.S. enjoy future economic rewards from a free Iraq? Probably. Was Bush’s passion for this war fueled in part by his proving his father was right to initiate the Gulf War and to exact vengeance on a regime that is supposed to have attempted to kill his father? Probably. Is a free Iraq a good thing? Definitely.
