RE: Not about IRAQ at all, was Re: Bush budget has 0 dollars for Afghanistan

From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Thu Feb 20 2003 - 01:27:52 MST

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    From: Michael M. Butler [mailto:mmb@spies.com]
    > A very significant stumbling block on the way to the kind of
    > amity which ought to be possible emerges when one looks at
    > the driving dynamic of places missing those qualities listed
    > in the text I snipped out.
    >
    > Roughly, it reads as
    >
    > "_Finally_ we can get those <x> bastards back."

    Oh, I agree. This has sabotaged peace again and again the world over.

    Still, while we can't prevent this, we can reduce its likelihood.
    Rich people are less into this kind of revenge than poor people.
    People in democracies with a police force and a strong respect for law
    are less likely to engage in revenge than people in functional
    anarchies or dictatorships.

    The desire for retribution is one of the reasons that, if the US goes
    into Iraq, it needs to be prepared to stay there for a long time to
    come to put that country back on its feet.

    mez

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