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

To: Steeny who wrote (85558)	3/24/2003 4:47:44 AM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Hi Steeny; Re: "Do you honestly believe that Saddam's party has anywhere near the same level of support which Ho Chi Minh had?" No, at least I don't suspect he does. But that doesn't matter. Like I said before, the comments about how much support Saddam has, or his nature as a dictator avoid the question. The real question is this: *How much support does Bush have in Iraq?* Answer it. The human tendency is to support the local military leader when your nation is at war. Did you notice that Bush's popularity figures soared when the war started? This is not a trait unique to Americans, it is universal across the species. It's the explanation for why the moronic Argentine generals took over the Falklands and then subjected themselves to a butt kicking. (Note that I am not suggesting that Bush started this war for political advantages. I believe that he started it because he believed that his cause was just and that, as has been parrotted by so many conservative commentators, that the Iraqis would be improved by our efforts.) And the fact is that we're very likely to kill Saddam soon. I would not be surprised if the surviving Baathist leadership surrenders. But none of that is the problem. The real problem is pacifying the Iraqi population. There is a common thread of belief that the Iraqis have been so cowed by Saddam that, like the Japanese, they will be willing to accept any leader, even an American one, that comes along. This is a joke. The Iraqis are one of the most gun happy populations on the planet. They are perfectly capable of making up their own minds as to who they will support. They are fairly strongly religious, and their religious leaders declare us as evil. They will fight, Saddam or no. -- Carl