joetheblow, here's my answer to all the questions you put forth. I know, you won't be satisfied, I don't expect you to, because this war has divided people. There is no middle ground, and we are at loggerheads, at the opposite ends of the spectrum. But I am atleast willing to say that you might be right, but I think the my opinion wouldn't even be acknowledged. Anyways, I'll post what I will and I hope you will respect me for that.
>>"Give him 30 more days." That's fine with me, but what happens when those 30 days are up? We know it happened before.
Well, there was a good chance, with Saddam yielding to so many concessions (I have to call them concessions, because no sovereign nation in its right frame of mind would allow other nation's airforce, the rights to fly spy planes over its territory), we might have had CONCRETE EVIDENCE about the existence/non-existence of the WMD in Saddam's posession. I think the US of A would certainly have helped the UNSCOM inspectors with reliable intelligence bout their wherebouts (or am I hoping for too much?)
>>"America is only interested in oil".
Just oil? Not just from Iraq I hope because it is not worth it. We would spend more than the oil they have just fighting the war. I guess Iraq could become a launch pad for 'conquering' other oil rich places. The cost for doing so? More money than most of the oil in the region. Good investment? NO.
Its not about oil, atleast not for their own consumption. Let me put forward some facts. Oil (fossil fuels in fact, oil being the most prominent among them) is the lifeline in today's world. Whoever controls the oil supply, controls the world, literally. Let me see, US is supporting a tyranny in Saudi Arabia, it controls Kuwait, and after the war, will control Iraq too. I don't suppose, any of the abovementioned countries would sell their oil to US of A's enemies. So, can any nation afford standing up to the US of A? And the cost doesn't matter... Why, you ask? Would you put a price on your liberty? What if that liberty was equated with your 'the lone superpower in the world' status?
So YES. It is a good investment.
>>Why is the USA friends with China? They do the same thing as Iraq... Iraq has oil to fund its weapons production, China has a struggleing economy. The chinese soldier is more loyal. I doubt they would sell weapons to those who would later use them against themselves.
I don't think that China has a struggling economy. If China's economy (with around a 8% growth in GDP observed in the last decade or so) is struggling, then the US economy has FAILED (its stagnant, for all I know). The Chinese soldiers are indeed loyal. And out of their loyalty, they sell weapons in the black market (I hope most of you must have heard about the China - Pakistan - North Korea nexus, China aids Pakistan in making Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan sells them to the N. Koreans: N. Koreans supply Pakistan with missiles, quite a deal, I must say) and launder the money through the isle of Honk Kong back into mainland China.
As for the USA being a friend of China, well, look at the market size. A billion people...
>>Is Saddam in breach of the agreement???
Is Saddam the ONLY person in breach of an agreement, any agreement? What about N. Korea jumpstarting those mothballed reactors?
>>Does he have loads of money???
Sure. But so does Bill Gates. Wanna shoot him? And doesn't Bush own a plane (I read this on the same thread)?
>>How loyal is his army???
Its not his army, its Iraq's army. And they are loyal. They are as loyal to their nation (please note that I referred to their nation, not their leader) as the US army. And like any army, they wouldn't bear the thought of another country's uniformed men stepping on their soil.
>>Population comfort level???
Hardly different from some other Arab states like Turkey, Saudi, etc where opposition is swiftly dealt with... And did you know, that before the sanctions, Iraq was one of the most secular and liberal nations in the Gulf?
>>How many resolutions for disarmerment????
Atleast as many for non-proliferation.. I don't think that has worked either with many countries openly or covertly selling arms. Who helped Iraq arm itself in the first place, and who looked the other way when these arms were being used against Iran?
>>How many years under said resolutions???????
I don't know... you tell me. Its been almost 15 years since Tianmen... And twenty+ years since Tibet... (the Lama still resides at Dharamsala, a leader exiled from his own nation)
