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

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (142814)	8/7/2004 2:47:34 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

1) <in terms of his programs> Kay did not find any active programs. 2) We could not take action against either Iran or North Korea even if we wanted to -- we can barely find enough people for Iraq. 3) "Intentions" require means. Saddam had no means. And his intentions were far from clear. Iran's intentions and North Korea's intentions are serious -- and they have the means.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (142814)	8/7/2004 9:27:16 PM
From: dumbmoney	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

As for the options in Iran and Syria, you're really going to have to explain how having a large American army on their borders limits our options with them, as opposed to being nowhere near. Diplomacy is ever so much more credible, you know, when it is backed with credible threat, the operative word being "credible". You have it exactly backwards. It's Iran's threats which are much more credible - they can easily do us grave harm given our precarious position in Iraq. And that makes our threats less credible.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (142814)	8/8/2004 2:45:21 AM
From: GST	Respond to of 281500

Retired diplomats and defence chiefs condemn Australia's Iraq stance SYDNEY (AFP) - A group of more than 40 former Australian diplomats and defence chiefs accused Prime Minister John Howard's government of deceiving the Australian people over the reasons for waging the Iraq (news - web sites) war in a public statement issued. AFP/file Photo The open letter echoed similar statements issued earlier in the year by retired US and British officials, making Australia the latest of the pro-war allies to face criticism from its own former diplomats. The statement said the electorate had been misled over the reasons for joining the US-led war in Iraq and democracy could not work properly if people could not trust their elected representatives. "We are concerned that Australia was committed to join the invasion of Iraq on the basis of false assumptions and deception of the Australian people," the statement said. "Saddam (Hussein)'s dictatorial regime has ended but removing him was not the reason given to the Australian people for going to war. "The prime minister said in March 2003 that our policy was the disarmament of Iraq not the removal of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)." It said Australia's involvement had raised the country's profile as a terrorist target. In April, a group of former diplomats sent a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) savaging "doomed policies" in Iraq and the Middle East. The letter was echoed by retired US diplomatic and military officials in two separate letters in May and June accusing President George W. Bush (news - web sites) of undermining US credibility in the Arab world and calling for him to be voted out over Iraq. The Australian statement was signed by former defence force chiefs Alan Beaumont and Peter Gration, former defence department secretary Paul Barratt, former prime minister's department secretaries Alan Renouf and Richard Woolcott plus former ambassadors including Rawdon Dalrymple, Stephen Fitzgerald and Ross Garnaut. Australia has been one of the strongest supporters of the Iraq campaign, committing about 2,000 troops to last year's invasion and maintaining a force of about 850 troops in and around the country. Howard has repeatedly denied misleading the public over the invasion, saying intelligence at the time indicated Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Health Minister Tony Abbott said the government had not mislead the public over the reasons for going to war. "There were intelligence failings but those failings don't alter the fact that the government did not misuse the intelligence that it had," he told Channel Nine. The signatories said they did not wish to endanger Australia's alliance with the United States but it should be a genuine partnership and not just a rubber stamp for policies decided in Washington. "Australian leaders must produce more carefully balanced policies and present them in more sophisticated ways," they wrote. Opposition leader Mark Latham said Howard had been dissembling about the Iraq war ever since it became apparent that there were no weapons of mass destruction. "Mr Howard has an appalling record," he told ABC television. "He can barely lie straight in bed." news.yahoo.com