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

To: Bilow who wrote (60776)	12/9/2002 8:06:52 PM
From: BigBull	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

As soon as inspections are stopped Iraq will go right back to developing the things. Carl, you can go all the way back to the 1st Punic Wars to illustrate this principle. A Carthaginian Trireme washed up on Roman shores and the Romans copied it down to the splinter. And Whammo! To make a long story short; the Romans became an almost instant naval power, canceling the Carthaginian naval advantage. I do not dispute this principle in the slightest degree. Rather, I would use it as a major argument for invasion, for only invasion and the subsequent occupation will reveal the true extent and scope of Saddam's WMD programs. Any extant paper records recovered therein plus freed scientists(many of whom were tortured into compliance by Saddam) will do a great deal to reveal the complete network of technical connections involved(human and otherwise). while sanctions may be lifted even as soon as towards the end of 2003 Unfortunately for the Iraqi people the sanctions will only be lifted when Saddam is dead and his Baathist regime is removed. Too many interests benefit from them, most prominently Saddam. Saddam loves the sanctions, especially the "Oil for Food Program." A real war would see close to 100 ships running full time, along with pleas for retired merchant mariners to come back to work. That depends on how much materiel was both prepositioned and filtered through during the past 6 months or so. That is data that I'm sure has been carefully vouchsafed by the Pentagon and that neither you or I are privy to. I do, however, believe that 3 brigades won't cut the mustard, and that we will see more coming.