[Anna Offler]

-< Jacques wrote

Janice,

>George Dumya said something in his speech the other night that really
>disturbed me...that once Hussein is toppled, the threat of terrorism will
>diminish greatly.  How does he figure this?  I think it will increase
>terrorism, make other countries hate us and peg us as war-mongers, and
>alienate us more than we already have been.

<Terrorism may increase in attempts, but the ability to acquire chemical,
<biological, and nuclear weapons decreases dramatically.  Thus the
<possibility of a truly damaging or catastrophic attack decreases.  Not to
<mention the training and outfitting of terrorists by the government of
Iraq.

9/11 proved you dont necessarily need them. Iraq is the last country that is
likely to train fundementalists as Saddam wouldnt want them after his war
with Iran. Besides it might drive some Nuclear nations like Pakistan or old
soviet republics to fundementalism and that is even scarier .


>I just hope this "war" ends and fast.  I hope Iraq can recover and become
>a free nation.  I hope the US can recover.  I hope the environment can
recover.

<We all hope the same thing.  The environment should suffer very little
<compared to the damage done by Iraq during the Kuwait invasion.
We've seen 7 wells set alight now why not more.

>My other fear is that even if we "win" (and I use that term very loosely),
>how are we going to help rebuild Iraq?  If it's anything like what we
>didn't do in Afghanistan, Iraq will grow another Hussein.

<The same way we rebuilt Europe after WWI *and* WWII?  The US has a long
<standing history of rebuilding nations.  And don't denigrate the situation
<in Afghanistan so blithely.  Fledgling democracies are difficult,
<particularly in a location that had been under such an harsh autocratic
<rule, but at least women are allowed to look at the sun again and can
<attend school.
Afghanistan is still a basket case. The warlords still rule parts of it.
Now Turkey is moving in on Kurdish territory in the North of Iran. They do
not have a good history of treating the Kurds kindly either.

>Janice
>
>PS: I am very surprised Australia entered the war!  What were the reasons?

<Because it is the right thing to do?
Because John Howard is a right wing politician living in the 50s who thinks
that if we dont back America it will violate the ANZUS treaty. New Zealand
are'nt in the war, and they are part of the ANZUS.
75% of Australians dont support the war unless the UN sanctions it. We
happen to live next door to the worlds biggest Muslim nation whereas America
doesnt. That doesnt make us cowards just realists that our country is part
of this region.

Hey dont get me wrong Sadam is a bastard of the first degree and deserves to
die, and his people have a chance but all the US government answers are too
glib for me, and take the focus off the real problem which is to eliminate
as far as possible the Osamas of this world. They cant get him so they
create a war they can win only it will just be the start of problems in that
region.
Why didnt they get rid of him last time ? Why did they turn a blind eye to
supply of WOMD to him in the 80s when he killed more of his own people( the
Kurds and Marsh people) and the Iranians? Why did they allow Israel to
continue with its nuclear program?
What has changed now? Disarmament is never an easy process. Northern Ireland
shows that and also the Nuclear Proliferation treaties . The US does not set
a good example to the world on this as it continues to look at options like
the Star Wars program. Any defensive program can quite easily be turned
offensive, and that gives the rest of the world worries . The Arab world
quite rightly sees this thinking as hypocritical, ie the its OK if we and
our allies have the toys not you. They wont ever trust the US if the US wont
trust them

Lew and Anna
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