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

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (124461)	2/7/2004 5:45:35 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<The French, Germans, and Russians were all willing to tolerate, and even support, a brutal despot in Iraq, all for the hope of obtaining billions in oil contracts.> Hawk, don't forget the Americans and New Zealanders [who sold halalujah sheep to Iraq]. Saddam was a long time in power before he decided to invade Kuwait and do what should be done which is include Kuwait as part of Iraq. The artificial and arbitrary line drawn across the sand which created Kuwait caused a lot of problems. Saddam had it right that there shouldn't be a line. But he had it wrong that he should own everything. The USA gave Saddam lots of support; I dare say more support than he got from the French, Germans and Russians. The USA really went into a snit when the Shah of Iran was ousted and went ape when Iran took hostages for a year, until Ronald Raygun took over the button. So they foolishly supported Saddam. The USA-supported Saddamistic attack on Iran resulted in a vast horror of mass graves. Israel got the hostages out of Uganda, but the USA crashed and died in the attempt to free the hostages in Tehran - which was very embarrassing. Meanwhile, it's nice to have the UN belatedly back on deck in Iraq and the USA seeking international support to sort the place out. It will of course be the usual cobbled together half-baked sorting out rather than the full-scale NUN sorting out. But half a solution is better than none. The USA has done a pretty good job in Iraq. Better than I'd hoped actually. Congratulations on a job well done. But fighting and winning is only half the situation. Until habeas corpus and private property protection and freedom of the individual are rampant, there's more to do. Democracy would be okay too, but I'm okay with Colinisation if the Colinist is better than the democratic outcome. For now, democracy might not add much value at all and could result in civil war, which, as the USA found out a couple of centuries ago, can be horrific. Colin Powell as Viceroy might be a good thing. He could be in charge of NUN establishment as part of his regional viceroy duties. He could stand as first World President - I bet he'd like that job. It would be quite an honor to be selected; better than being president of the USA. Bill Clinton would be after the job too. Maybe Gorby would have a go. It would be a lot of fun. Mqurice

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (124461)	2/7/2004 6:18:49 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<you tell us who's oil industry has the most influence in directing the policies of their country..> The British government used to own BP [about half of it in the late 1970s I think]. Chairman John Browne is a friend of Tony's and I'm sure has his ear on political issues. BP is big business for Britain. France also has a strong link between their oil industry and government, some of based on bribery and corruption. There is also a strong link between the French noocular industry and their terrorist government [I don't know how much of the nuclear industry is owned by the government - Google could say]. While one could argue that the French government is no longer terrorist, they never gave a full and grovelling apology and compensation [they did pay some compensation]. Most French remain in 'good job' mode about the murder on the Rainbow Warrior. They should understand that such actions leave lingering memories. The USA also needs to understand that collateral damage and 'mistakes' are not forgotten next week. The hurt families and friends never forget. When feeling big and tough, the powerful and megalomaniac sneer and smirk at opposition, whose ideas they think can safely be ignored, or even casually killed, literally. The USA via Bush, Cheney and co is a Big Oil business. There really is a military-industrial complex, with the latest stupidity being Bush's "We're off to Mars" waste of space. It's the 21st century George. It's time for Innerspace, Cyberspace and nanospace, not Outerspace [where there's nowhere to go anyway]. There's more to be found in a neutrino than on Mars. Mqurice