russell-
<<For years the propaganda machine attempted to make us believe all of the above about the USSR>>
Please document, or at least cite, where "the propaganda machine" attempted to make us believe:
the USSR "repeatedly used chemical weapons on its own unarmed civilians"
I have not heard this charge made of the Evil Empire, although it was certainly guilty of many atrocities. Mssrs. Stalin, Beria etc. had other means at their disposal- including the forcible starvation of million of Ukranians in the 1930's. I wonder to what "propaganda machine" you might be referring- one of your own delusions and prejudices, perhaps?
Please be so kind as to tell me when the Soviet Union threatened its neighbors with chemical and biological weapons. Again, this must have escaped my notice. Perhaps you may recall that even when the Soviets probably did arm their proxies in Laos with chemical weapons, they steadfastly denied it. Curious that the natural elements in Laos have not produced any "yellow rain" in recent years.
May I suggest that the Czechs, Hungarians, Poles etc. or the other subjugated people of Eastern Europe- many of whom risked their lives to escape their Pax Sovietica- may not entirely share your view of "this concocted threat." Of course, living as I guess you do on the longest unmilitarized border on the face of the planet, perhaps you are inclined to minimize the threat of military action by neighboring countries?
<<A few years ago you would have been branded a pinko>>
For the life of me, I cannot imagine who would have branded me as "pinko". Whom do you suggest might have branded me as such- and why? May I suggest- how to put this delicately- that you are wrong?
<<Now the military needs a new enemy>>
You seem to suggest that 1) the US military drives foreign policy, and 2) that this same military is itching to enter into war with Iraq. Certainly in 1991 the top brass of the US military, which has not yet forgotten about a little politician's "glorious adventure" (so described by the late Hubert Humphery) known as the Vietnam War, was anything but enthusiastic about going to war with Iraq. I would be most interested in your evidence for your claim the [US] "military needs a new enemy" and the implicit suggestion that this need drives US foreign policy. Please provide some of your facts to sustain your allegation- or is that statement just a vapid smear job?
<<So now, because of the lack of interest pointed toward the USSR you now think that really they were not so bad.>>
Kindly do not presume that you know what I think. For the record, I think the USSR was a horrible atrocity. I suspect you regarded the Soviets in a much more favorable light than I ever did. But, with the collapse of the Soviet Union they no longer have the honor of being the most powerful enemy of the human spirit to infest the earth.
<<Actually it appears that the US won this arms race>>
Indeed, just as it "appears" that the planet Earth has a moon.
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Have I made any errors in my description of the murderous thug in power in Baghdad? If so, I am open to correction. If not, how might you suggest dealing with this mass murderer who so avidly seeks the means to continue his chosen avocation?
Unless you are able to substantiate some of the claims you made and that I have challenged, I shall consider your statements as intellectual rubbish for which you should truly be ashamed and with which I cannot spend more time dealing. But hey, living in Toronto must indeed cause one to take the reality of chemical and biological warfare less seriously than if you were living in Kuwait City, Tel Aviv, or Mosul- eh?
Larry |
