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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BubbaFred who wrote (8448)	2/15/2003 6:14:46 AM
From: Mao II	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Iraq inspectors to get more time - Blair Saturday, 15 February, 2003, 10:59 GMT Mr Blair expressed his determination to tackle the crisis UN weapons inspectors will get more time to try to establish the truth about Saddam Hussein's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said. As hundreds of thousands gather for anti-war marches across the UK, the Prime Minister told the Labour Party's spring conference in Glasgow he wanted the UN to settle the ongoing crisis. Mr Blair and other top Labour politicians are facing an uphill struggle to convince much of their grass roots support of the case for British participation in a US-led military attack on the Baghdad-based regime. However, Mr Blair was dismissive of recent concessions by the Iraqi dictator, warning: "The concessions are suspect. Unfortunately, the weapons are real." Blix report Mr Blair said: "The time needed is not the time it takes the inspectors to discover the weapons. "They are not a detective agency. "The time is the time necessary to make a judgement - is Saddam prepared to co-operate fully or not?" "If he is, the inspectors can take as much time as they want." Friday's report by UN weapons inspector Hans Blix called for more time to be given to inspections and said Saddam Hussein's regime was improving co-operation. The speech, which took place at 1030GMT on Saturday is thought to have been rescheduled to avoid a clash with an anti-war rally outside the conference centre. In his speech, Mr Blair expressed respect for anti-war protesters' convictions and rights to demonstrate. Tight timetable He conceded it was still possible for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to prevent military action by co-operating with the weapons inspectors. But he insisted the international community must not show weakness. Another report from Mr Blix is expected in a fortnight. However, the prime minister made it clear the problem of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction must be confronted - even if it means war. The conference has a tight timetable, which is focused away from the international crisis. Heavy security surrounded the conference centre during the morning's proceedings with venue bosses have banned the use of amplifiers in the car park following a request from Labour. news.bbc.co.uk

To: BubbaFred who wrote (8448)	2/15/2003 6:19:56 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 25898

God and American diplomacy Feb 6th 2003 From The Economist print edition ONLY one thing unsettles George Bush's critics more than the possibility that his foreign policy is secretly driven by greed. That is the possibility that it is secretly driven by God. War for oil would merely be bad. War for God would be catastrophic: the beginning of a "clash of civilisations" that would pit Christians and Jews against Muslims. Is there anything to this? The war-for-God crowd can certainly point to bits of evidence. The current White House is the most religious since Jimmy Carter's days. In his memoirs of his time as a presidential speechwriter, David Frum says that the first words he heard in the Bush White House were "Missed you at Bible Study". Mr Bush, a born-again Christian who turned to God after many years of hard drinking, starts each day kneeling in prayer. Michael Gerson, his main speechwriter, is a master at clothing public policy in religious language. The second piece of evidence is that America, despite a decline in churchgoing, is a much more religious place than Europe, supporting more than 200 Christian television channels and 1,500 Christian radio stations. Religion is particularly important to Mr Bush's party. Republican voters attend church more frequently than Democrats do. Evangelical southerners constitute the praetorian guard of the Republican Party. The third piece of evidence is the scariest: some right-wing Christians seem to be spoiling for a clash of civilisations. Jerry Falwell has called the Prophet Muhammad a "terrorist". He has since apologised, but Pat Robertson, who called him a "wild-eyed fanatic", a "robber" and a "brigand", has not. Franklin Graham, son of Billy, has branded Islam "evil". Many American evangelicals believe that the complete restoration of the nation of Israel is a prerequisite for the Second Coming. Thwarting Ariel Sharon is thus tantamount to thwarting God's master-plan. [snip] economist.com

To: BubbaFred who wrote (8448)	2/15/2003 10:08:00 AM
From: PartyTime	Respond to of 25898

I'm just amazed that Bush thinks he can deal with the Kurds without screwing them in the process. And you know what? I think the Kurds know this. Already there are factional divisions within the opposition government that the US has been attempting to ready once the US has occupation under its hat. One problem is the US want's to leave all of the lower level current government officials in place after the war. Some in the new opposition don't want that.