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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Srexley who wrote (183872)	9/19/2001 7:37:08 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

As to Iraq, Iraq never conquered Iran. Built up is not the term that I would use. Provided support sufficient not to be over run by terrorists is my description. After Iran started to decline, Sadam decided to keep on going and looked at Kuwait as money so he could become his own little empire. He misjudged America and got burned. I'd would not be surprised if his hand is in the current evil. The US assisted Afghanistan freedom fighters with the means to throw out the USSR. There were I'd suspect many faction and a spectrum of beliefs that have been suppressed by the consolidation of power of what we now call the Taliban. But the anti American and Israel festering has gone on for a long time and Oil money has found it way into the hands of vicious evil wretches. After the fall of the USSR and with no fear the cowards now turn on those who helped and protected them. It's little emperors trying to prove they are not cowards. They use whatever to find someone to hate and use the hate to unite and control the ignorant. For to long to many kept whining why all this money for defense, there is not an enemy any more. Well we all have a been bloodied and the many ignorant Americans have been given a kick in the head. I hope that this savage lesson is not soon forgot. tom watson tosiwmee

To: Srexley who wrote (183872)	9/19/2001 8:04:00 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

You're right.... We are pretty close in our thinking. But regarding the original Iraq/Iran conflict (where we egged-on Saddam, and armed his military... after previously resupplying the Iranians), how can it be said that our actions accomplished anything useful for the world? Imagine if we had done NEITHER. If Iran had finally toppled Saddam after he attacked (a distinct possibility), Desert Storm would perhaps not have been necessary. It is likely that the Suni Muslim world itself would have organized to halt Iranian expansion. We would have been needed as much or more, but without being resented so much. And, without the American-made Iranian Air Force flying because of lack of spare parts... there would have been a lot fewer Arabs dead. Possibly that war, and the later Desert Storm, and perhaps this new "Terrorism War", would not have occurred at all. Propping up - and selling arms to - dictators, (or giving money to Theocracies... as we gave money to the Taiban this spring), just don't seem to be effective strategies anymore :( We keep shooting ourselves in the foot... and then living to rue the day we did it... embroiled in the same conflicts that we exacerbated. I believe our biggest mistake was trying to view the rest of the world through the same prism of perceptions we applied to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The rules of Power Politics and "containment" that we followed during that period, just don't transfer successfully to today's regional conflicts. And again, it was the fear of losing access to cheap oil that put the blinders on us, and caused us to react in 'kneejerks', without thinking.