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

To: zonder who wrote (24030)	3/31/2003 2:18:30 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25898

Why not? Because if it were just about popular opinion, there would have been no negotiations about a price for their assistance... No price would have been sufficient and they would have stated so... That's why.. Do you think that public opinion just appeared on its own? Who's paying for the rallies being held? The Sound equipment and the advertising? No doubt many financial elites have a vested interest in keeping Saddam in power, and they are throwing money around.. And then others just hop on the band wagon because it's easy to be "anti-war".. But it's not so easy to come up with a viable alternative that doesn't involve US troops being regional security guards for all of gulf nations... Heck.. I'm anti-war.... The last thing I want to see is American boys having to fight and die because people in that region don't have enough common sense to handle their own security... But we're there, and we're going to do it our way since the rest of the world was too cozy economically whoring themselves to Saddam's bidding.. Do you have any idea on what the first Gulf War cost Turkey? Of course they asked for compensation. Then make the UN compensate them. After all, the UN sanctions are the ones responsible for prohibiting shipment of oil from Iraq. And it's been the bungling nature of the UN inspection process, and French/Russian intransigence, which has prevented those sanctions from being lifted.. Removal of Saddam removes all reasons for Turkey to suffer continuing economic damage.. The Turkish people had EVERYTHING to gain from removing Saddam.. And someone has had a vested interest in not emphasizing that point.. Instead, opting to try and extort the US for their "cooperation", when the right thing to do FOR THE ENTIRE REGION, is to remove all the rationales for maintaining those UN sanctions against the Iraqi people. Sanctions which have done FAR MORE HARM to the Iraqi and Turkish economies than can ever be projected from a rapid conclusion to Saddam's regime. But now.. the Turks have made their bed and they have to "lay in it".. This war could be almost over right now had US troops been permitted to TRANSIT (or at least their equipment), NOT STATION in Turkey.. But we couldn't even get that kind of permission.. So there we are.. with US-Turkish relations at an all-time low, and Turkey's economy free-falling under it 160% of GDP national debt and 50% interest rates. As well as your opportinity to make more than single digit returns on your Turkish bond position.. And you know something.. The Turks have every right to say no to the US request. And they have the same right to suffer the repercussions of their decision without the US being expected to have pity upon them (but we will anyway in the interest of mutual relations). Hawk