RE: Iraq: the case for decisive action

From: Dickey, Michael F (michael_f_dickey@groton.pfizer.com)
Date: Fri Jan 24 2003 - 07:02:37 MST


-----Original Message-----
From: Kai Becker [mailto:kmb@cameron.kn-bremen.de]

Am Donnerstag, 23. Januar 2003 18:42 schrieb Dickey, Michael F:
> "So far Bush is doing a very poor job convincing anybody that he is
> morally right in attacking Irak.
>
> The fact that Sadam is a murderous racist tyrant despotic dictator is
> moral justification enough.

"This whole thing would be far more credible, if the US had shown or would
show real interest in the well-being of other countries. It is not very
convincing, when someone deals with non-democratic regimes (Chile,
Argentina, Nicaragua, Iran, Iraq) and groups like the Taliban and bin Ladin
on the one hand, and suddenly demands to be the moral leader against just
one other non-democratic regime, especially when exactly this regime had
been financially supported for years."

In this instance we have a murderous racist US and west freedom hating
tyrant, and yet the US government can STILL not drum up enough popular
support to oust him without much criticism, and ironically enough, some of
that is because comments like yours above, which essentially are saying
"This war is not morally just because other wars which are less morally just
were not undertaken, therefore I will not support this one" Which is of
course ridiculous. In this case a clear and present threat exists, and yet
many people still don't support it. How would the US get popular support
behind attacking a regime that is not considered a clear and present threat?
I am all for ousting the non-democratic despotic regimes all over the world,
bring all humans into constitutional democratic republics and all the world
will benefit.

But try to convince that goal to post-colonialist post-modern multicultural
relativist liberals and see where it gets you. Accustations of forcing our
crazy cultural ideals like free speech, equal rights, and individual and
civil liberties on these other cultures. Which means we leave them to rot
in oppresion, sexism, and tyranny in the name of 'respecting other cultures'

"Even if Iraq has to be liberated from Saddam tyranny, that task is much
more complicated than just a military action game. The problem will be to
esablish a stable, democratic system, that will honor human rights.
Unfortunately, this is an idea, which is completely new in that region and
has no roots there."

Right, it is an ideal. So because it will be tough we shouldn't even try?
We could try putting political pressure on saddam, get the UN inspectors in,
or try an embargo, wait, we allready did all those things. So what should
we do, just *hope* he doesn't have or use any weapons of mass destruction?
I have yet to see any viable alternative course of action presented by the
'anti war' groups. Id be willing to listen of course.

"And even worse: the US has no interest in such a development."

And you know this howwwww....? Creating a democratic free arab nation over
one of the largest sources of oil in the world will have profound benefits
to the US. Not only would it undermine the OPEC oil price fixing, it would
help to elimate the money Saudi's use to fund terrorists, and create an
example to the Arab world of what a democratic free market embracing arab
nation could be like. This would help to combat many west hating
idealogies.

"So what? What do you think can he possibly do with that oil? Does he have
any chance to make any money with it? Could he smuggle substancial amounts
of it out of the country? How? And who would pay for it?"

You are right of course, he is completely unable to sell any oil to anyone,
nor use it to power his own military industrial base.

"The US government pays 10-20 times its yearly amount of developing aid for
a war against a country with the worlds second largest
depository of the most important energy resource. It takes the risk of
starting a wildfire of violence in that region. "

It also takes the risk of creating a shinning becon of democracy in an Arab
sea of tryanny, corruption, oppression, and murder.

"Would you believe, that this regime, with "US interests first" as its prime
directive, will implement a truly free and democratic political
system in Iraq, that will use the oil resources for the benefit of the Iraqi
people?"

A democratic, free, and market based nation with free arabs selling the oil
to us will benefit us and them more than any other arrangement. It will
increase their wealth rapidly, still give us cheap oil, and create an
example of a free democratic arab nation in the face of the theocratic
murderous regimes that surround them.

"What if the new regime in Bagdad plays well with the other OPEC states?"

What if we are successful in ousting saddam, with minimal loss of civilian
lives (or non) set up a free democratic constituional republic, and create a
great example of western democracy in a wealthy arab country, and get
ourselves cheap oil in the process?

Michael Dickey

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