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


To: Neil H who wrote (149755)10/29/2004 10:22:12 AM
From: michael97123  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 281500
 
Why the election will tip to bush will be the sympathy vote. Kerry rather than targeting specific errors made is using a scattershot approach. Bush is being blamed for the hurricanes, the flu shot mess, jobs, anything and everything. There are folks like me who might vote against bush even though we like him better than kerry strictly on the issue of the iraq war operation and this admins inablility to substantially change tactics & personnel and/or just admit error.
I said yesterday i may vote for kerry but root for bush if this is a repeat of 2000. Makes no sense does it? But frankly if kerry/edwards keeps torturing bush with false charges and exaggerations while at the same time belittling the job our troops are doing in iraq, i may yet vote for bush and root for him too. mike



To: Neil H who wrote (149755)10/29/2004 12:30:22 PM
From: Michael Watkins  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 281500
 
You are right - the securing of the oil ministry and pipelines first is somewhat of a red-herring, but you are wrong in your appraisal that the issue is merely political, since in this issue lie clues that the administration failed to comprehend the true requirements of the war.

The war was justified and called first and foremost because Bush claimed Saddam Husayn had active WMD programs and was a clear and present danger to the US in that Saddam could hand over these weapons to terrorists.

Faced with such a clear cut rationale for war, the easily identifiable first objectives of the war are:

1. Secure the weapons, before Iraqi army, resistance or terrorists could get to them
2. Secure the rest of the country, infrastructure, etc.
3. Keep the peace.

Months and months and months have gone by, including many months after the infamous "Mission Accomplished" theatre on the deck of an aircraft carrier - and still the so-called WMD, or their dangerous pre-cursor components - are not secure.

It is patently clear that there never was a coherent plan to secure Iraq's arms stockpiles.

And there was never a clear plan to keep the peace either, which is why oil exports are continually disrupted and why Iraq can't even produce its own gasoline, and has to buy fuel at outrageous prices from Jordan.