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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas M. who wrote (399)	4/19/2003 12:49:55 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 20773

'Saddam did one thing that was economically bad for the people of Iraq - his military buildup and aggressions." Numerous, opulent palaces throughout Iraq, millions of Iraqi's starving, living in squalor & poverty, without health care or clean water; the rape, torture, oppression & the outright slaughter of his people was a good thing for Iraq & their economy? ____________________________________________________________ One particular issue poses an obstacle to economic recovery in Iraq: the debts that the country has outstanding to France, Germany and Russia. Much of that debt stemmed from Iraq's purchase of weapons from those countries. Little to no part of the debt stemmed from the desire of Saddam's regime to help the Iraqi people in any tangible way. Instead, Saddam piled on debt in order to furnish his military with weapons, while allowing his potentially rich people to languish in squalor and poverty. techcentralstation.com What's appalled Coughlin the most is seeing the miserable living conditions in which most Iraqis exist, especially in the Shiite south. "I don't get it. This is a country with two large rivers, agriculture, all that oil. But to see the way people live, in such squalor. And the kids especially, my God, the kids. "I guess these dictators are all alike. ... They're rich and bored and they figure they can get away with it forever.... thestar.com "To see that kind of opulence from this character and the sort of treatment meted out to a lot of his own people, I think it does drive home to a lot of the public who may have had some doubts we weren't dealing with a regime here of ordinary brutality. "We were dealing here with a despotic regime in the best sense of that word." Mr Howard said in time, more evidence would emerge of the opulence and splendour of the Iraqi regime compared to the cruelty and squalor the Iraqi population lived under. Saddam's palaces should be kept as a reminder of that, Mr Howard said..... news.com.au Iraqis loot Ali's palace And at the bottom of the 25-foot (7.62-metre) swimming pool - in the heart of the desert where the children of Iraqi farmers beg for water at roadsides - lies a notebook..... "It's a palace and they're living in total squalor." Corporal Jenkins, whose wife is due to give birth to their first child in seven weeks, added: "It's been an eye- opener. "I can't believe the way people are living here, it's incredible. "Children begging at the sides of streets, begging for food and water in bare feet. news.bbc.co.uk LIFE IN IRAQ'S HELLHOLES I was invited to see the place where some lived. It is hard to find the words to describe the squalor. Some people live in holes in the wall here..... sky.com FALL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN SHOWS BUSH WAS RIGHT Something "unexpected" happened during President George Bush's greedy march to take control of Iraqi oil fields -- people were liberated, torture chambers were neutralized, children (yes, children) were freed from prisons and a tyrant was deposed. Saddam was a brutal dictator who terrorized his people. All of the riches and potential of Iraq were squandered by and for him. Iraq was a country of Saddam servants. The people either served their master or were destroyed.... Iraq is a Third World country for one reason: Saddam Hussein. The country has the resources to take care of all its people. Saddam chose only to take care of himself. In the shadow of the palaces with gilded bathrooms is squalor. Food that was supposed to feed the masses was warehoused for the benefit of Saddam's goon squads. Those food caches are no longer guarded by men with rifles, and they are making their way to hungry mouths across the land. Much work remains to help the people of Iraq. Iraqis are desperate for humanitarian aid. They needed such relief even decades before our troops entered the country..... southernillinoisan.com Saddam's Palace Opulence While Iraqis Starved He called it the Council of the People. But in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, most people never saw it. It was the main building in the Republican Palace in Baghdad, one of the most opulent buildings in the world, rebuilt by Saddam to defy the world after the 1991 Gulf War, while much of Iraq lived in squalor.... As with his other palaces in Iraq, everything is massive and elaborate. Interiors have gold doors and engraved wooden ceilings. Some bathrooms have gold fittings and there are hundreds of mostly empty rooms and marble-lined halls.... But wars and repression are what most Iraqis will associate with his rule. reuters.com Squalor And Splendor In Basra The story of Basra is a tale of two cities, the town most people live in and the special inner city built for Saddam.... For 500 years, Basra was the greatest city in the Arab world. Between 700 and 1200 AD, it was the port that launched Sinbad the Sailor. All of that is gone now. Except at the end of one road. Just beyond a series of arches and just beyond the misery, there is an oasis in the squalor, created for Saddam Hussein. The dictator’s palaces in Basra are spread over hundreds of acres of canals, bridges, hubris and greed..... cbsnews.com

To: Thomas M. who wrote (399)	4/21/2003 12:04:55 AM
From: WhatsUpWithThat	Respond to of 20773

I wouldn't begin to have the experience to compare Saddam to Marcos in the accumulation of wealth and luxury at the expense of this country and people. I can't imagine the astronomical amount money spent building those palaces, fountains, green oases in the midst of lack and want, wouldn't count as significant in terms of how the money could have been better spent for his people. Leaders will always live much better than the average member of their constituancy, regardless of the country. But this, as with many issues, is relative. Bush lives less far above you or I than Saddam above the average Iraqi, that's inarguable. So then it devolves to a question of how much difference is acceptable. I do wish that right here at home, more of those with immense wealth would see more of it better spent on helping others than on $300K watches (or riding camels into their weddings, Celine Dion). There are people here who have gold bathroom fixtures, too. Regards WUWT