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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (221226)	3/1/2005 2:57:05 AM
From: Elroy	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 1573482

I don't believe that horrific and senseless violence will lead to democracy esp. when that violence is being perpetrated by an outside power who is the one fighting for the democracy, and not the people of that nation. Well, I'll ignore the fact that the above sentence refers to the Iraq of two years ago, as most of the violence in Iraq today appears to be from Iraqis against Iraqis that want peace and democracy, and the reason I'll ignore the sentence is because...... I didn't ask you what your beliefs are, I asked why always highlight the negative things that are occurring in the ME, but you never celebrate the many good things? Your answer is.....you did.....once? Why are you so interested in cutting and pasting articles about 8 people getting killed in a small Iraqi town, but you never cut and paste articles about positive things that occur in Iraq???

To: tejek who wrote (221226)	3/1/2005 7:28:14 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1573482

re: In the meantime, the cost to the US in terms of people killed and maimed, and money spent is significant. In the end, should a miracle happen and Iraq becomes democratic, it will not be worth the cost IMO. Exactly. * ~1500 US soldiers dead. * ~12,000 wounded. * Ten's of thousands of US soldiers psychologically damaged. * ~100,000 Iraqi civilians killed. * Worlds opinion of the US at an all time low. * Institutions that have built the post-WWII peace marginalized. * US seen as a human rights violator. * $300 Billion directly to the budget deficit (borrowed from our enemies). * New nation blocks forming to directly oppose US power (with no US participation). I could go on... And the net result? We've stirred the pot in what was the relatively stable ME. Duh, what a surprise. There is certainly some change going on in the area that provides the lifeblood of our prosperity. Where mindmeld and others see a tulip field blooming with democracy, I see a power struggle. There are a million variables, and it's impossible to see how this will play out, how many wars will be fought, which ethnic powers will take control in which countries, how this will effect the global economy, which countries will become more dangerous and which will become less dangerous. The status quo was working pretty well (remember $16 a barrel?). Now we have a crap shoot. It's typically American to think that change is always good... a look at history, especially ME history, will show that it's not always good. Let them call you cynical; I would rather be cynical than naive. We're in the first inning of what could turn into a very bloody game, and in the end there is no telling if it will be good or bad for the US (or the people of the ME). "May you live in interesting times". John