From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue Feb 18 2003 - 22:54:18 MST
Brett writes
> > Why isn't the US going to war with Iceland, immediately?
> > I don't think that the doves [hawks?] on this list have
> > provided any solid reasons for not going to war with Iceland.
> > And who is any of us to say what the terrible implications of
> > not going to war with Iceland might be? Iceland says it doesn't
> > have any WMD, but is there proof?
>
> This looks a bit like a sentiment I used to share. My view had
> been - since when did it become the responsibility of the
> accused to prove their innocence? What great dangers lurked
> for the world (and for US citizens themselves) if the Bush
> administration (unelected but for Bush himself) and commanding
> both the worlds most powerful military force and an extraordinary
> capacity to put its own "spin" out through the media was to be
> permitted to appoint itself judge, jury and executioner and did
> not even seem to acknowledge that people in the free world
> expected them to make their case? Had the world forgotten
> Nixon (that Presidential administrations could go off the rails?)
> Had Americans forgotten?
After giving an extremely good description of his former
beliefs, Brett testifies as to what changed his mind:
> Surely the greater threat, it seemed to me was the Bush
> administration's own approach. But something didn't make sense.
> Why was it that Powell (who was more widely respected than
> Bush) and even Hans Blix were also emphasising that it was up
> to Iraq to prove it was cooperating and not up to the
> investigators to find evidence of non-cooperation? This
> looked to me to stand the normal burden of proof on its head.
>
> Then I read Resolution 1441 which *all* members of the
> Security Council (a body appointed to represent all Member
> Nations of the UN) had agreed to...
I will forego quoting the remainder of Brett's well-written post.
The important point is that we have here an interesting case of
someone who changed his mind, and what caused him to do so. I
can myself express confidence in Brett's narration because of
the intelligence and sincerity of numerous prior posts.
Now, if someone from the other side will give an honest account
of how *their* mind was changed, it would be most interesting.
Thanks,
Lee
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