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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (36395)	8/7/2002 8:56:28 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

You don't put the US military into play until and unless there is a clear-cut objective that they can achieve and then get out and come home. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention during my military history coursework, but I can't seem to recall any war the US has fought where we have been able to simply "get out and come home"... But I can think of a clear-cut objective.. The overthrow of Saddam's regime and the creation of a new government that will make progress toward pluralism and economic opportunity for the Iraqi people, and where the government will no longer be in a situation where it can threaten it's neighbors (or US interests) for some time to come. And a tertiary objective is the further isolation of the House of Saud, forcing them to deal with their extremist factions or face being the next "clear-cut objective". Again.. we're at an impasse with Saddam. He's not going to shape up without pressure being applied. And he's going to continue to seek WMD's that will make any future attempt to oust him a FAR MORE risky affair, but even more imperative. But I do see being able to sharply reduce our force structure in Iraq once Saddam has been removed. Other surrounding nations will have a vested interest in assisting to ensure that any new Iraqi government is stable and non-threatening. If you recall, our victories in Japan and Germany required the US to maintain a presence there for years until they had restructured their political and economic system. As for hearing planes, you'd be surprised at how many helicopters I see flying up the Potomac to the Pentagon. There has been a noticeable increase in activity from my view. And Andrews continues to remain very active with C-4, 141, and 17 flights arriving and departing. But they would not truly be indicative of the level of US military activity. But they certainly are indicative of the amount of travel the brass is engaging in. Hawk