Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: KonKilo who wrote (97809)	5/10/2003 2:29:09 PM
From: kumar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

it is becoming plain for all to see, that there really is no viable plan I would not rush to that conclusion yet. As I previously posted, this is a decades long thingammy, and can not be evaluated on a month or even a couple years basis. I just hope the US administrations (current and future) have the fortitude to last the distance. An example (albeit 55 years old) : The Brits agreed with the Indian leaders about 40-50 years before they left India, that they would leave India. Those years were used to build up an infrastructure, a moderately educated section in society etc. IMO, it takes 1 generation for these changes to happen.

To: KonKilo who wrote (97809)	5/10/2003 7:49:31 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

Well, it is becoming plain for all to see, that there really is no viable plan and that any good will that came from our ousting Saddam is quickly turning to hostility. A lot of things are becoming plain to see ShilohCat.. For example, it's clear to see that even with the rapid defeat of Saddam's government, France and Russia are unwilling to end sanctions so that oil revenues can be used to reconstitute the Iraqi economy and pay workers... And we've seen the relief agancies involved in a pissing contest about who's responsible for their safety and whether providing that safety forces them to take commands from US forces. So those are some additional reasons why this is taking longer to restore order. And no.. I'm not happy about how we initially handled the looting. And I'm not happy with how long it's taken to get people back to work so "idle hands" are not tempted to commit crimes. But given the fact that we did accomplish this invasion with a minimum of combat forces, and combat troops are not trained to handle civil disturbances and riot control, I can't particularly blame their leaders for being hesitant about taking on civil order missions. And you're right, to an extent.. there is hostility there because of the slowness of restoring order and basic services, but even with it's presence, most Iraqis probably realize that the US is their only hope to rebuilding and reconstruction. When we proposed a more peaceful alternative, we were bullied and called unpatriotic. Ohh?? Pray tell what were those "more peaceful alternatives"?? I kept asking for the anti-war crowds to provide us realistic means for insuring Saddam's compliance with UN resolutions, but no one offered anything that didn't reek of wishful thinking. And now we see the evidence of the human tragedy that has occurred in Iraq, from the mass gravesites, to the prisons, it's pretty clear to me that NO PEACEFUL means would have been sufficient to end this regime. Hawk