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

To: KLP who wrote (39877)	8/26/2002 1:10:52 AM
From: jcky	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

Well... I can only give a generalized blueprint off the top of my head. The solution is not to invade Iraq; that is a distraction and a costly one, at that. If the Mideast is ablaze in flames, the reasonable thing to do is to extinguish the fires first. Dousing the blaze with combustible fuel is silly and will only serve to ignite and rally the passions of the Islamic fundamentalists. Claims that invading and occupying Iraq will drain the swamp of terrorists are misguided because there have been no direct link established between Iraq and a global network of terrorists known as al-Qaida, and terrorist organizations are transnational requiring only a loosely coordinated structure to survive. Iraq also doesn't fit the profile of Afghanistan: a failed nation-state fertile for terrorist activities. This all leads to the point: putting out the existing fires or facilitating the end of the Israelis/Palestinian conflict and completing the task of nation building in Afghanistan. In order to facilitate the end of the violence between the Israelis/Palestinians, it is necessary to act as a balanced and neutral broker for both parties to enact a fair settlement. This implies a willingness on a US president to break the domestic political pressure to act in Israel's favor. Providing carrots as the sole basis for peace has failed so it's time to bring out the big stick too for both parties. This means any misbehavior by the Israelis and it's no more foreign aid. For the Palestinians, any more misconduct and it's no Palestinian state with the accompanying financial aid. No exceptions. If the Israelis and Palestinians still choose to kill each other on their own accord, that's fine, but the violence will not be supported by the money or conscience of US citizens. Given the economic realities and the realization that peace and prosperity are the key for survival, it's merely a matter of time before both parties blink. To prove the US is capable of invading, occupying, and installing a stable government in Iraq, it is necessary to demonstrate the feasibility of this proposal on a smaller scale. This project is otherwise known as the purported nation-building effort that is currently under way in Afghanistan. And so far, the results have not been very encouraging. Until the US is capable of implementing a working model in Afghanistan first, it is unrealistic to expect a successful model in Iraq. And the hawks want to start another blaze in Iraq? It is time for a reality check.