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 : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (19254)	10/22/2004 11:43:58 AM
From: Suma	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 90947

Having read each of the links you provided I was most impressed with your research to even accumulate the material. It certainly is impressive and as I read some of the links... some of which were more credible than others I must admit that I did not know a lot of what you present. Thank you for taking the time to offer me the opportunity of seeing things from a different perspective. I hope to look into the entire concept that Iraq .. Saddam had ulterior motives. I had not been familiar with the Duelfer report... Wonder why. Wrong boards I guess.

To: Sully- who wrote (19254)	10/22/2004 9:51:53 PM
From: cirrus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

The problem with Duelfer's assumptions is that they fail to separate Saddam's objectives from Saddam's realities: Norman Schwarzkopf said of Saddam: As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man. I want you to know that. brainyquote.com Saddam possessed and used WMD during the Iran/Iraq war. To what effect? A bloddy eight year war that ended in a stalemate. Saddam possessed WMD during the US/Iraq conflict known as Gulf War I. He also possessed at the time the world's fourth largest standing army equipped with a wide variety of weapons and a formidable air defense system. The result: a ground war that was over in 100 hours. Yes, Saddam could have rebuilt his arsenal and military after sanctions were lifted. Then what? A military based on fear and bribery is not to be feared. Who can forget the images of the thousands of Iraqi troops surrendering during Gulf War I and their many explanations for refusing to fight? With respect to WMD... even if Saddam did reconstitute these programs, as Duelfer believes he intended, what would he do with them? Any use of WMD against the US or Israel by Iraq or Iraqi surregates would have ment the end of Saddam's regime. Saddam could have used WMD against Israel or the US during Gulf War I, but did not. Why? Because 1) chemical and biological weapons are generally ineffective battlefield weapons and 2) use of such weapons would have caused the US to end Saddam's regime. Saddam was a survivor, not a suicidal terrorist. The Duelfer report is important and addresses many important issues, but he fails to incorporate some important historical realities into his projections.