To: Michael Sphar who wrote (21299 ) 12/17/1998 3:59:00 PM From: Charles Hughes Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 67261
>>> No less of a patriot than Scott Ritter has labeled this fiasco of Clinton's a Wag the Dog exercise in futility. Right. The one inspector who now has an axe to grind. I admire him, but he is speaking out of understandable anger at what has happened to him personally. What Ritter also says, when not criticizing his former employers, is that we need far more draconian military action. He thinks what is happening is not enough . So Ritter thinks there is an argument for military action. But in his contempt for his weak-kneed former superiors and UN accomodationists he believes this could not have happened without the political convenience of the timing. The point to me is this. He may well be right that this should have been done before. I also happen to think so. I think that we should have freed the Iraqi and Kuwati people and installed democracies as we promised the troops and American people we would in 1991. I don't think we should have sold those people back into subjugation for temporary realpolitik considerations of the time. I think stopping Swarztkopf was a betrayal. That he thinks this is only happening now because of the impeachment is irrelevant. That we again will quite likely not go far enough to halt the nerve gas or nuclear weapons or biological warfare programs of Iraq is not irrelevant, and on that point I agree with him. However, he would agree that we need to do at least what we are doing. Since this is the case, perhaps folks could be a little more circumspect about the kind of conservative propaganda, for a short while, that will act against the very real military needs of the moment. We need a little strength of unity, just for a short time. That's all I ask. Perhaps people could limit their slanders to Monicagate alone, without bringing the war into it? Chaz