Michael, that's a bit of a giggle: <Who knows if Saddam would have become another Hitler. Thankfully, we'll never know because of U.S. leadership.> I know he wasn't going to ever become another Hitler. He was already getting to be a pretty old guy for a start. Secondly, he had a bunch of troops in it for the cash flow, not the ideology. Look how fast they took off their uniforms and ran for it in their undies, or surrendered, as soon as they could get away with it without being shot in the back.
It was like the Italians in WWII who my father said were very helpful when they surrendered en masse, as soon as they decently could, because they would take turns carrying the guards' guns which got heavy after a while. One NZ soldier, being the amazing military man he was, could guard 1000 Italian soldiers, with them carrying the rifle. German prisoners were another matter altogether. They were NOT given the guns to carry.
Thirdly, he was surrounded by Turkey, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and further afield others who would resist his Panzer attacks.
Fourthly, he'd look a bit out of place in a French cafe or English pub.
Heck, if you want "another possible Hitler", you'd better keep moving, because there is still Amendiejihad in Iran, Kim Jong-il in Korea, Myanmar's boss, Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Chavez in Venezuela, Assad in Syria, whoever it is in Lebanon, Don't forget the Palestinians, Gaddafi in Libya, Sudan, the rest of Africa. Hey, what about Putin and his side-kick. I'm waiting for Germany to gear up for a re-run too. Give them another 10 years and the younger generation might not be feeling too much war guilt and could be getting quite bolshie.
Oh, what about Hu Jintao? When I watched the 50th celebrations, with Jiang Zemin parading up and down in a limo, with him calling "Sieg" and the crowd roaring back, "Heil", I felt a shiver run up my spine. They were saying it in Mandarin, but some things translate quite well. China isn't a shrinking violet. They already have nukes, rockets, can shoot down satellites, there are lots of them and have more potential than Saddam ever did.
After that, have a tea break, because there will be more! Rome wasn't built in a day, so it'll be a long haul. Without wishing to be too provocative, but just to point out, there are some people who would nominate the USA as most likely candidate for the new Third Reich.
Also, Indonesia looms large as a potential "next Adolf", with NZ and Oz troops in East Timor holding the line. If the USA had the guts to take part in the effort to hold the line there, it would be a good thing too. So much to do, so little time. Then, how about we reconquer the non-democratic states in Africa - there's a LOT of carnage going on there, with potential Hitlers everywhere.
<NZ troops would probably get tired in Iraq too if they actually had the guts to take part in the effort to rid the world of a murdering tyrant.>
Mike, there have been a LOT of those, many of them well in favour with the USA. Such as, for example, one Saddam Hussein. General good bloke in the 1980s as far as the USA was concerned. Especially while attacking Iran. Why didn't the USA back Iran in their attempt to rid the world blah blah blah...? Hostages? Revenge?
The fact that the other 95% of the world didn't leap to attention to fight for freedom, oil, and against imaginary WMDs in Iraq, when the USA snapped their fingers, doesn't mean they are cowards. In case it escaped your attention, NZ SAS troops were high in the mountains in Afghanistan early on, dealing with AlQ.
The USA didn't leap to follow my instructions before the unnecessary war in Iraq. It shouldn't be surprising that I didn't leap to follow their's either.
Okay, that's my post for today! So much to do, so little time. I can only save the world a little at a time.
Mqurice |
