" Dear Pamela,
We have reached the point in the argument over the war in Iraq where I don't beleive that there are answers that are completely right or completely wrong and that the discource among thinking and caring people is healthy.To your response I will only add one thing...the need to invade Iraq to protect vital natural resource interests was not the reason given by this nation's government either to the United Nations or our own people for invading Iraq. We staked the lives of our young men and women on the premise that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. If it is in the interest of revisionist history to now claim that the invasion was justified because we could not trust such vital resources in the hand of a dictator, then so be it, but acknowledge it for what it is.
I find it somewhat ironic that the same dictator was considered worthy of trust to guard those precious resources during the Iran-Iraq War when the United States provided his goverment with both overt and covert support...hmmm...I guess he must have lost his way and we had to set him straight! "
Well Said Bob, Well Said!
Worthy reading:
The United States & The Iran-Iraq War
" The war between Iran and Iraq was one of the great human tragedies of recent Middle Eastern history. Perhaps as many as a million people died, many more were wounded, and millions were made refugees. The resources wasted on the war exceeded what the entire Third World spent on public health in a decade.France became the major source of Iraq's high-tech weaponry, in no small part to protect its financial stake in that country. The Soviet Union was Iraq's largest weapon's supplier, while jockeying for influence in both capitals. Israel provided arms to Iran, hoping to bleed the combatants by prolonging the war. And at least ten nations sold arms to both of the warring sides.
The list of countries engaging in despicable behavior, however, would be incomplete without the United States. The U.S. objective was not profits from the arms trade, but the much more significant aim of controlling to the greatest extent possible the region's oil resources. Before turning to U.S. policy during the Iran-Iraq war, it will be useful to recall some of the history of the U.S. and oil."
Map of the Iran-Iraq War
" When two of the world's leading suppliers of oil go to war, the world has to take sides, but when the war pits a corrupt dictatorship against a fanatic theocracy, it's hard to know which side to take. As a purely practical matter, however, it's best to line up with corrupt dictatorships because they're usually more willing to work a deal. During the Iran-Iraq War, the world as a whole tossed in with Iraq. The two superpowers openly assisted the Iraqis, as did most centrist Moslem states such as Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia."
related posts:
Is Anyone Really Ready For the Truth?
A Reply to "Is Anyone Really Ready For The Truth?"
Here's another comment from my friend Lee who has given me permission to share it:
ReplyDelete" What a twist on the best wine is saved for last. that also assumes a theoretical approach to our first onslaught- I guess practice is supposed to make perfect. Well- that implies a next time. Besides- it's worse already- there is no stabilization at all. None. Zilch. Nada.
Now- apply all that- with logic and reason- pragmatically - to our mortgage crisis.
The defaults have doubled in CA since July. Ask the millionaires in LA about eminent domain putting in a new freeway- right through their playground. Luck has nothing to do with it. Cross your fingers America- here comes the fairy dust.
And the pragmatic approach to global warming may just be NASA working in air- conditioned offices to get our esteemed populace off the planet.
Another analogy- remember the kid who had the football and got mad and took his football home. Well here's the approach that was used to invade Iraq- we take their football home to our house. That's good sportsmanship. Now- whose resources do we want next? Are you ready for some football?
Is this how I am to conduct my business with my neighbor?
Aware?-of what?
I believe we must be aware of what this foolishness has brought us too and refuse to keep it's logic in our reasoning processes.Or to allow our elected officials to think they have our support in their folly.
Not anymore.
Lee "