It seems reasonable that the wealth of Kuwait be spread over a larger population than that encompassed by a British Empire line on the map - especially since so many people love to denigrate said empire as having no redeeming merits.
Y'know.. some would opine that having the US intervene 60 years ago in a conflict between rival empires (British, French, Third Reich, Italy, and Imperial Japan) was not justifiable.
If we hadn't violated our neutrality by selling (trading?) arms for bases to the British, maybe the Japanese wouldn't have been persuaded to attack us and drag us into the war.
But look at the changes that occurred in the world because we did. Decolonization, Democratization, the destruction of Communism.. and "relative" global stability for many decades were the result.
And it's quite possible that, 60 years from now, we can look back and possibly see that bringing down some of these illegimate Authoritarian/Totalitarian regimes might produce the same result.
We will certainly have our challenges, because there are other forces, such as Islamic Militancy, that are vying for the hearts and minds of the Muslim world. However, since Democratic Government is the only form that is implicitly legitimate, and we've yet to see truly democratic governments wage war upon one another, it a vision worth pursuing.
And it's especially the case when these rogue regimes get out of line and wage wars of aggression/expansion against other nation/states.
And btw, if you choose to legitimize Saddam's expansionist policies, what's wrong with the Israelis pursuing the same against blatantly Authoritarian/Totalitarian regimes, especially when those regimes incessantly threaten it's utter destruction?
Hawk |
