Ted,
I supported it because the reports claiming that the Serbs were committing genocide.....forcing people off their land and into camps.
Reports that were never proven true. They never found the 100,000 dead. It was all propaganda, that started days AFTER the bombing started. A similar propaganda is under way now, at least it is BEFORE the war starts (if it does).
If you think that the US is right to go to war as a response to every civil war with casualties (exaggerated into ethnic cleansing / genecide, as needed by the propaganda machine), than you have seen nothing yet, as far as US interventions would need to be concerned. Are we now supposed to invade Zimbabwe, South Africa, from where similar reports are coming out as from Yugoslavia? And that's just scratching the surface.
How about this from today:
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Death Reports Emerge in Ivory Coast
Thu Oct 10, 7:46 PM ET
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS, Associated Press Writer
BOUAKE, Ivory Coast (AP) - The killers were young and armed, bearing guns, machetes and clubs. They roamed the streets of Ivory Coast's second city, chasing victims. Some, they burned alive.
Frightened residents of Bouake — fleeing by the thousands during a lull in fighting that has raged for days — spoke Thursday of how the three-week-old rebellion let loose deadly ethnic rivalries in the this rebel-held, central city of 500,000...
...Aid workers estimate that approximately 150,000 Bouake residents have been displaced by the uprising — the once-stable West African country's bloodiest ever.
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Invade Ivory Cost now? How about sorting things out in Kashmir, Northern Ireland, Tibet. Should we attack China? How about attacking Russia over Chechnya. It fits the Yugoslavia profile perfectly: A nation, currently friendly with the US (Russia) sorting things out with domestic separatists/terrorists. How about calling in Albright from retirement to give Russia an ultimatum, that they need to let Chechnyans / Al Qaeda roam free, terrorize Russians inside Chechnya, and even inside Russia, and if Russia does not comply, NATO will start bombing (without Congressional debate, without Congressional approval, without UN approval), just like that, in the middle of night. How about taking out all the bridges on Volga river from Moscow all the way to Caspian Sea? That should be a worthy start of the war?
Just days ago, you were upset (wrongly) about Bush not seeking Congressional approval. How about this:
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Washington Journal: Clinton To Ask Congress For Kosovo Resolution
By Frank T. Csongos
Washington, 12 April 1999 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen says President Bill Clinton will seek a Gulf War-type resolution from Congress in support of NATO's military campaign against Yugoslavia.
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Doh! Almost a month into bombing, and Cohen says Clintonn WILL seek Congressional support.
One by one, your points, your newly found principles are melting away. What is left is one overriding principle: If it is a Democratic president, everything is allowed, if it is a Republican president, actions that were ok for a Democrat President are suddenly an outrage. Meaning, everything you are posting here is pure partisanship, without any rhyme and reason. If making point A fits partisan propaganda today, use it, if the opposite of A fits tomorrow, no problem. Opposite of A is it for the day.
I am looking forward to hearing your explanation on how Clinton is allowed to start war without Congressional approval, while you requested one from Bush.
Also, after your need for UN approval of US wars went up in flames, you may want to let me know your revised opinion.
BTW, if you are interested, my opinion is that President should ask for Congressional approval for starting wars, and shouldn't start wars without it. President, if he feels like, can ask for UN approval, but a lack of UN approval should not stop him from acting.
Joe |
