Decius wrote:
] Elonka wrote:
]
] ] This is a joke, right? Some kind of prank post? Or a
] troll?
] ] ;)
]
] Did you read it? Its obviously not a serious proposal but its
] not a troll either. Its an attempt to put things in
] perspective.

I scanned it. It's definitely a different perspective, but I don't think it's been carefully thought through. And I think that anyone who thinks that Saddam and Iraq were "contained" or could be "controlled" or should be given power back if they "made certain promises" has a very limited and unclear view of the situation. Saddam and his crew were a bunch of sadistic, psychotic, paranoid, murderous, lying thugs. They could not be trusted, they never *can* be trusted, and any kind of proposal of, "Saddam has to promise such and such" is just insane, because it's absurd to believe anything the man says, ever. Have we already forgotten the ridiculous statements from his "information minister"? The cruelty with which people all across the country were treated?

I think it's a fair statement to say that many people in Iraq want the U.S. out as quickly as possible. But to say that it would be better for the majority of Iraqis to put Saddam's regime back in power because at least then they'd have "peace"? No, I think that's ludicrous. It's like saying, "Let's bring Hitler back, at least under him the trains ran on time."

I won't argue the fact that things are messy in Iraq right now. And it's hard to focus on the good stuff that's going on there when we're constantly bombarded with news about another explosion, another death, another hostage-taking. Those things grab headlines. The other stuff like building schools, distributing textbooks, digging wells, establishing infrastructure, those things don't make headlines, but they *are* happening. Elections are going to take place. They won't be perfect (heck, ours aren't either!), but I think it's far preferable to stick to the plan and let the Iraqis at least try to decide for themselves what they want, than for anyone to propose putting Iraq back under a brutal dictator.

RE: BarlowFriendz: Exit Strategies