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To: John Carpenter who wrote (12352)	2/21/1998 7:19:00 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

John, I agree. Did you catch the discussion on Lehrer News Hour last night? I don't know if they have internet transcripts but it was informative. Basically, two Iraqi "in the know" types, one Israeli "in the know" and one ex-Russia diplomat agreed that Sadam is a winner no matter what we do. If we bomb then he is a victim to the other Arabs. If we cave then we are worthless as a protector in the mid-east. Either way I expect things to heat up considerably over there later this year or next. PK

To: John Carpenter who wrote (12352)	2/21/1998 9:58:00 PM
From: Chuzzlewit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

John, the problem is that the embargo just hasn't worked and the Iraqi people are hurting. There is a shortage of food and medicine. Embargoes work when the leadership of a country cares about the populace, but Saddam simply doesn't care. He uses the embargo to try to amalgamate the people in an anti-US posture. Had he really cared, the embargo could have been lifted years ago by simply complying with UNSCOM. I don't think that US foreign policy is spineless. I think that the problem is that Americans are not willing to have their young men die for a situation that they really don't understand. It was much simpler when we were trying to evict Saddam from Kuwait. People could readily understand the provocation then. There was an interesting piece in today's NY Times on this issue. They interviewed several ordinary Arab-Americans living in the Detroit area. They characterized Saddam, among other things, as a war criminal. But, they were very concerned about the loss of innocent life. If we are to point fingers, much of the blame is ours. During the 80's we were actively supporting Saddam as a bulwark against the Iranians. If you recall, Israel bombed a nuclear bomb facility in 1981 or '82. During the war with Iran Iraq showed no hesitancy in using chemical weapons. All of this was known before the outbreak of hostilities over Kuwait. If you want to characterize a foreign policy as spineless I think you need to look no further than George Bush and his advisors. The problem, as I see it, is that we haven't made a convincing case to the world as to why Saddam must be removed from power. At least the US and Britain are willing to act. If you want to characterize countries as spineless look at France and Russia. I'll relinquish my soapbox now. Regards, Paul