Posted on 09/25/2002 1:21:32 AM PDT by MadIvan
Iraq invaded two of its neighbours already, and Saddam is trying to gain nukes. You can't deny it. At best, he will acquire WMD as a deterrent to either strongarm his neighbours (i.e., make the Saudis agree to say, cuts in petroleum production) or to provide cover for other operations, such as reinvading Kuwait. Getting the picture? His WMD fit into an overall strategy of giving Iraq a stranglehold in the region. Given the amount of energy we get out of there, not a good idea.
Both time with at least the tacit (Kuwait) approval of the US.
Cite and prove. The only people who have ever said this were decidedly on the red side of the political spectrum and laughed out serious discourse.
Once again, so do others. So let's go get India, North Korea, the Pakkis, et. al.
Read above. India and Pakistan keep the nuclear weapons as a deterrent to prevent attack, not as a cover for aggression. North Korea was on the axis of evil for a reason.
And let us not forget where the vast majority of the 9/11 perps came from... that's right... Iraq's neighbor to the south.
Of course not. But you deal with different problems in different ways. A free and democratic Iraq, pumping out oil with abandon will provide a powerful example to Iran and the Saudis, as well as undercut the regimes by causing petrol prices to fall through the floor. Checkmate.
Ivan
As ever, gracious and lovely lady, I am flattered by your words and kindness...even at times when you intend to be a pain in the backside. ;)
Best Regards, Ivan
Lookey here, Blair bot hehehehehehe You ain't seen nuthin' yet ;-)
Ah, but if you weren't being in a pain in my backside, I'd take it that I'd decreased in your affections. That's how you lot express warmth on your side of the Irish Sea I believe. That and purchasing each other packets of crisps down the pub. ;)
Best Regards, Ivan
Who just rejoined the Conservative Party today ;)
Decreased in my affections? Why, I have an eternal soft spot for limey gits ;-)
Ah, and there is something quite magical about having those Irish eyes a'smiling. ;)
Best Regards, Ivan
In between the occasional bouts of Celtic murder ;-)
Considering the enjoyment of some of your countrymen for boxing, among other things, the two likely can happily co-exist. ;)
Best Regards, Ivan
Not to mention hurling. oooh-err! ;-)
I will be kind and not turn this into a joke involving American slang terms. ;)
Curses, must be getting soft in my old age. ;)
Best Regards, Ivan
I do my best. My thanks.
Regards, Ivan
You're clearly under the impression that asserting cowardice substitutes for argument. And are fond of making false analogies -- upholding individual self-defense, with the weapons that you Brits have blithely given up, does not scale effortlessly into justifying continent-wide movements of armies.
I won't give you any more of the benefit of the doubt. You want intimidation, not discussion. Sounds like one of those football-yob pug-dog thugs, to me. "With you to the last"? Between your type and Blairian poodles, I doubt you're worth the rhetorical Purina Dog Chow.
My God, thing of the senseless rhetoric your spouting here while on the brink of war! "Defending liberty"...do you honestly think Saddam thinks about or cares about your "liberty"? Do you think that 9/11 was an "attack on freedom"?
Gimme a break!
I'm a hard nosed conservative. But this is about "Haliburten" having oil to pump, plain and simple. Saddam's one tenth the threat of Fidel Castro, and you don't see us forcing a "regime change" in Cuba.
Conservatives are starting to sound like Democrats, if not lemmings!
Ah yes, the traditional leftist slander of any argument besides their own lacking "substance". The traditional leftist snobbery that everyone besides themselves is "uninformed" or "stupid". You sure you're not a refugee from DU?
You're clearly under the impression that asserting cowardice substitutes for argument. And are fond of making false analogies -- upholding individual self-defense, with the weapons that you Brits have blithely given up, does not scale effortlessly into justifying continent-wide movements of armies.
Oh do get over yourself. I raised the points that you cannot deny about Iraq's capabilities and what it has done in the past. You simply not wanting to acknowledge them does not constitute an argument. I merely accused you of cowardice at the end of the argument, not at the beginning.
I won't give you any more of the benefit of the doubt. You want intimidation, not discussion. Sounds like one of those football-yob pug-dog thugs, to me. "With you to the last"? Between your type and Blairian poodles, I doubt you're worth the rhetorical Purina Dog Chow.
A very poor attempt at an insult. I'm sure your friends Sunflower and Moonbeam will be disappointed when you tell them this at the next organic brown rice buffet you attend.
Ivan
Fidel doesn't have WMD. The last time he came close there was an argy bargy that nearly did cause a regime change. It was called the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Conservatives are starting to sound like Democrats, if not lemmings!
Since when is mindless pacifism part of conservatism?
Ivan
I find it amazing how quickly you went from being a advocate for reasonable debate to one of personal invective. Do you consider debate to be an unanswered op-ed piece that you put forward as truth? You accuse others of doing exactly what you are doing. You give, on the surface, cogent thoughts but little in the way of factual or historical meat to your opinion.
You put up the straw man that we can't take care of Iraq until we take care of (fill in the blank). I have a very strong suspicion that should we be on the verge of war with (fill in the blank) there would be many asserting that we must take care of either Iraq or anyone other than (fill in the blank). I question your intellectual honesty.
You show your lack of credibility or you abundance of ignorance with that statement alone. Halliburton is not an oil company. So your own lack of knowledge damns your entire argument.
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