Even if Saddam can be contained, and there are some major holes in that argument, at what cost?
First, we will have to keep paying for the no fly zone coverage forever, and eventually one of our planes will crash -- they do that from time to time -- or even shot down, and Saddam will have an American pilot hostage. Plus we will have to keep a large force in the middle east forever to keep the containment in place, and how long will the American taxpayers go for that?
Second, and much more important, at what cost to the freedoms of the Iraqui people? Do we have no obligation to clean up this mess we made by putting this guy in power?
And, of course, we already know that containment isn't working -- Saddam is getting pretty much all he wants despite the UN embargo. France, Germany, and other countries have shown they are quite willing to violate the embargo for satisfactory pay. In fact, it may be that they welcome the embargo precisely for this reason -- the US pays most of the cost of maintaining it while their businesses can charge exhorbitant prices for goods and services because they are risking violating the embargo. If French and German companies had to compete fairly with US, British, and other countries, they would not make nearly the profit off Iraqui business that they do now. |
