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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (38436)	4/8/2004 12:14:25 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793939

I don't know why Tom Friedman thinks that the UN would be one bit more "legitimate" to the Iraqis than the US. They've seen the business end of the UN in the oil-for-food-scam. Moreover, everybody knows that the blue helmets are cowards who will run away if you shoot a few of them. So they are easy to intimidate.

To: LindyBill who wrote (38436)	4/8/2004 12:30:41 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793939

Too weird. Didn't Friedman want us to depose Saddam? Or was that his evil twin?

To: LindyBill who wrote (38436)	4/8/2004 1:35:54 AM
From: frankw1900	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793939

In fairness to Iraqis, though, asking the silent majority there to stand up right now is asking a lot. Actually they're asking the Coalition to let them stand up. They're lining up to enter the police and army and they're not doing it just for the money. It certainly wouldn't be all that helpful if non official mainstream Iraqis started shooting as well. Need for organization requires they would have to form militias also, and that doesn't lead in a good direction, I think. There's something incoherent in Friedman's position. I know the right thing to do now is to stay the course, defeat the bad guys, disarm the militias and try to build a political framework that will hold the now wavering Shiite majority on our side ? because if we lose them, the game is over. But this will take time and sacrifice, and the only way to generate enough of that is by enlisting the U.N., NATO and all of our allies to make the development of a decent state in Iraq a global priority. The Iraqis certainly find no value in the UN as an organization which wil protect their interests. I'm not Iraqi and I certainly would not expect the UN to support my interests or even those of my country. It might, but its non support of human rights and its general corruption and capriciousness don't inspire my confidence. The UN and NATO like a winner. The US will get support from them when it's fairly clear the Iraq project is successful.