>> 'Some' civilians died in Iraq ? tens of thousands is 'some' and you were yelling and screaming when our 3000 were killed by Bin Laden ? Face the truth - you could care less about civilian lives if it is not ours.
I don't know what the numbers are. But I do know that 5,000 Iraqis were dying monthly at the hands of Saddam's regime. I don't believe the Iraqi people wanted it continue. I think they are unhappy about having an occupying power in place, but I also believe the Iraqi people will laud George Bush as a hero 10 years from now. You can't measure the meanings of these things while you're knee deep in it. Some time has to pass for everyone to have an appropriate perspective and to allow the emotions of the moment to subside.
Do we count loss of lives as a result of sanctions ?
If we're sensible about it, of course we do.
BTW, the war is not over. I dont think we have seen the end of civilian deaths yet, unfortunately.
I agree with you on this. While I don't expect huge numbers of additional dead civilians, there will likely be SOME more.
Thats your view
Correct.
I call it impractical and hypocritical.
We will just have to disagree on this. While Tom Friedman and I agree about nothing, I do respect the man's knowledge of the region. He would never give Bush credit for his accomplishment, but he has supported the war effort from the outset. Because he recognized that this kind of change is necessary to stop the Arab youth from growing up hating the United States. And there is little doubt this is a first step, but one has to have a little vision for 15 years down the road.
My take is, leave them alone, unless we are 'truly' invited.
Who is goint to invite us? Saddam?
Dont impose our value system on them.
I don't see us trying to do that. Bush has been adamant that their elections are up to THEM. We're simply trying to get them a situation where they can hold them.
Look deeper and identify the root cause - Oil and our lifestyle.
Realistically, oil and our lifestyle are part of why we need a more stable situation there. I don't have a problem with that. The United States is totally dependent on foreign oil and will be until we get large numbers of Hybrids on the road. We can't really afford to have a lunatic in control of the petroleum supply.
I know. You don't think that's a reason to go to war. I do. But the number of reasons are so many that we hardly need another.
We dont meddle with dictators in Africa, even when they kill their civilians.
Depends on the circumstances.
Find an alternate source of energy and reduce dependencies on Oil - something we haven't been able to achieve for over 20 years now.
We're getting there. When the price of oil gets high enough, we'll develop alternative sources. In the meantime, it is a matter of national security that we not have oil supplies interrupted. |
