> -----Original Message----- > From: Jon Gabriel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 02:43 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: V-I Day +1 - endgame scenarios? > the "gassing his own people" episode most refer to > >happened > >years ago, and there's been no outcry about it until now. > (Not that it is > >invalidated by the lag time, but it doesn't quite rise to a > major human > >rights violation, as dispicable as it is) > > > > I'm not sure what you mean by 'no outcry', but UNSCOM has > been peacefully > trying to get him to eliminate his chemical weapons stores > since the end of > the Gulf War, mostly as a direct reaction to his use of those > same weapons > against the Iranians and Kurds in the 80's. There's a > timeline and some > figures here: http://editors.sipri.se/pubs/Factsheet/unscom.html > > In other words, the UN has been trying very hard to handle > the situation > peacefully to no avail. This isn't sudden: it's been going > on for over a > decade.
No one has stood up and said, "this is a war crime and we outta do something about it" > >Why do you think I disagree with a war? :) Not only do I > think wars are > >perfectly legitimate means of accomplishing goals, I think > that oil is a > >perfectly valuable thing to spill blood over. > > > >Speaking off-the-cuff - war should always be the last resort of a > >peace-loving nation. It should be wielded as a credible > threat, but not > >until other options are played out - unless or until there > is a credible, > >legitimate, and urgent threat that can only be overcome in a > timely fashion > >by the application of force. I don't see that situation > existing today. > > > > I know you were talking in abstractions, but...... 12 years > have gone by > since the end of the Gulf War. How much more time should we > give them, in > your opinion? The trick is that we (the US) haven't supported the process in ~5 years, and like it or not, the US and GB are the 2 driving forces behind it. Saying that the process hasn't worked over the past 12 years doesn't recognize this. > We're pushing Hussein to do the same thing we > were pushing > him to do immediately after the Gulf War -- at what point do > you believe our > non-military options will have run out? When a clear-cut, strong inspections process with quantifiable goals is stymied. Lay out what exact steps, processes, issues, and motions Iraq can go through to prove their innocence, and be public about what those requirements are. If they won't, no one reasonable is going to have ground to stand on. Continuing with shifting goals, priorities, and requirements for the disarmament process is not getting us anywhere but into combat. If someone came to me and said, "we're going to fire you unless you quit AND cooperate with us" I doubt I'd do much to be helpful either :) -j- _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
