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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (19184)	2/10/2003 5:16:07 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 23908

Re: The most explosive exchanges at Munich were between Mr Rumsfeld and the German foreign minister, Joshka Fischer. In a swipe at Berlin and Paris, the US defence secretary told the conference: "It's not surprising if public opinion is against the use of force if in some countries the leadership says this." Mr Fischer struck back. Turning to Mr Rumsfeld and switching into English, he retorted: "You have to make the case in a democracy. Excuse me, I'm not convinced." LOL... The so-called rift in the Transatlantic alliance between the US, France and Germany is PHONEY... almost FARCICAL. German Foreign Minister said, "Excuse me, I'm not convinced." So far so good, but Herr Fischer is nonetheless convinced of the need for Iraq to DISARM, isn't he??? And that's precisely what, imo, betrays Europe's pathetic posturing! SOMEONE INDEED HAS TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHY ON EARTH IS IT ABSOLUTELY VITAL THAT IRAQ REMAIN FOREVER A DEMILITARIZED, CASTRATED COUNTRY??!? If "Old Europe" were REALLY at odds with her American partner then she would challenge the core tenet of the American spiel, that is, the need for Iraq to disarm in the first place.... But, strangely enough, Europeans NEVER challenged the disarmement of Iraq proper, instead, they merely questioned the modus operandi to achieve it. Now, tell me, Mr Matador, why is it absolutely necessary to disarm Iraq? Does Saddam Hussein threaten to nuke, say, Belgium? Does Iraq plan to invade Sicily? Does Iraq want to exterminate Europe's 15 million Muslims? Does Iraq intend to nuke Israel?? Or is it the other way around? Does Israel threaten to nuke Iraq? But don't get me wrong: I do admit that there're some rogue countries in the Mideast that might become a threat to the so-called "civilized Europe"... For instance, several months ago, a prominent mayor in the Near East branded Belgium as a "government of bastards"... later, the same country accused Belgium of Nazism and anti-Semitism... and you know what really frightens me about the whole story? Well, the Mideast country that has so vehemently lashed out at Belgium DOES have nuclear missiles --even subs with nukes!!! And guess what, Belgian authorities NEVER asked for UN inspectors to be sent to such a hostile country... Go figure! And no, it's NOT an Arab country. Gus

To: elmatador who wrote (19184)	2/10/2003 8:55:24 AM
From: Carolyn	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

I think this might work: Message 18559371

To: elmatador who wrote (19184)	2/10/2003 4:29:23 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Respond to of 23908

Belgium, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- NATO members Monday again failed to resolve their differences over how to protect Turkey in case of an attack by Iraq after a day of heated talks at the military alliance's Brussels headquarters. Speaking to reporters at the end of an emergency meeting of alliance ambassadors, NATO Secretary General George Robertson said: "I don't underestimate the seriousness of the division within the alliance, but that division is still about the timing of the tasking, not whether the tasking will take place." The former British defense minister added that a presentation by Gen. Harald Kujat, chairman of NATO's military committee, convinced members that Turkey's "concerns are legitimate and the threat is real." Officials said the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's decision-making body, would meet again Tuesday in an attempt to break the 3-week-old deadlock. Earlier Monday, the 19-member bloc was plunged into its deepest crisis for decades after France, Germany and Belgium vetoed plans to deploy early-warning aircraft, patriot anti-missile defenses and anti-chemical warfare teams to the alliance's only Muslim state ahead of a possible conflict with Iraq. Ankara subsequently invoked Article IV of the NATO treaty for the first time in the organization's 54-year history. The clause commits alliance members to consult "when, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened." The three European states -- which are all opposed to the military build-up in the Gulf -- claim preparing for war could undermine efforts to find a peaceful solution to the stand-off between Washington and Baghdad. The move met with a furious reaction from senior members of the U.S. administration. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he hoped the alliance would "now realize that they have an obligation to assist a NATO member who asks for help." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld described the decision by three of NATO's founding members as a "mistake" that left Paris, Berlin and Brussels "isolated" within the 19-member alliance. "It is unfortunate they (France, Germany and Belgium) are in a state of disagreement with the rest of their NATO allies," he told reporters in Washington after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. He said if the three states continued to block NATO plans to help Turkey in the event of Iraqi aggression, the alliance's other 16 members would "form a coalition to provide such assistance." U.S. Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns said the alliance faced a "crisis of credibility" after the unprecedented decision by France, Germany and Belgium. However, Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis attempted to play down the split within the alliance. "These difficulties can be overcome because in fact there is no divergence on the essence of the problem," he said. The gulf between Europe and the United States over how to deal with Saddam Hussein was underlined Monday when Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou said the Iraqi leader was "beginning to understand the message" conveyed by Europe, the Arab countries and the United Nations. Speaking after a telephone briefing by chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix, Papandreou said: "It seems that a glimpse of light is finally there." Greece, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, Monday called for an emergency summit of EU leaders on Feb. 17 to thrash out a common European position on the Iraqi crisis. upi.com