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Finished with what? We got Saddam. Isn't that why we were there (I know that's not why, but that's what we were told)? If we really wanted to 'spread democracy' why stay for so long after Saddam was removed from office? Surely a democracy doesn't need a foreign military to occupy it. I mean, really, that's not a democracy and if any other nation on Earth had done it, we'd condemn that as being a military dictatorship. But we did it, so who care, right? Add that to the list of lies, like manifest destiny and a free market (well, the last one used to be true).
The problem is the French had control over Vietnam into the 1950's and then relinquished it and we saw what happened, communist take over of the north and then a war fairly similar to the Iraqi war.
In hindsight it was a mistake as he was easier to deal with than the replacement governments. Same with Libya and now Syria. The best thing we could do is to make a pack with Assad.
Overall. Left and Right, the West thinks that all nations are ready for Democracy. Many are not.
That last part is true. I think (continued) air strikes would have been a better option.
Let's face it: the Middle East needs dictatorships.
George W. Bush talking about how the Middle East needed America to give 'her' freedom...makes me laugh my @ss off now. You all can call Democrats and Obama softies all you want, but the reality is, removing dictators from the Middle Eastern states has made Islamic terrorism 100X more dangerous than it was even with Bin Laden.
The Middle East (Islamic world) can't handle freedom. That doesn't mean they're bad people, but they're just not going to be free and democratic states the way that we are. Yes, UAE and Malaysia exist - so what?
1. He kept Iraq "in order" by killing anyone who he didn't like
2. His sons raped any woman they wished
3. Saddam worked with Al Queda to attach America
4. Saddam sent his "weapons of mass destruction" over the border into Syria...truck load after truck load which was caught on satellite.
5. If Saddam wanted anything that belonged to anyone else he just took it and killed the owner if there were any objection.
That's just for starters
Saddam was a threat to America and Iraq was the best place to start to stop the terrorist threat. We won that war until the idiot currently in the White House interfered and lost everything we had won with his stupid and ignorant withdrawal.
Saddam was not a threat and we didn't win the war there. What we did was start a horrific war against us.
1. He kept Iraq "in order" by killing anyone who he didn't like
2. His sons raped any woman they wished
3. Saddam worked with Al Queda to attach America
4. Saddam sent his "weapons of mass destruction" over the border into Syria...truck load after truck load which was caught on satellite.
5. If Saddam wanted anything that belonged to anyone else he just took it and killed the owner if there were any objection.
That's just for starters
Saddam was a threat to America and Iraq was the best place to start to stop the terrorist threat. We won that war until the idiot currently in the White House interfered and lost everything we had won with his stupid and ignorant withdrawal.
It was the best place to start to stop the threat of terrorism? Why then, now that he's gone, it terrorism way more terrifying than it was 10 years ago? Al Qaeda was bad, but they weren't posting beheading videos on youtube.
And we had won the war? Really? I mean, yeah, we accomplished our shortsighted goals but what did that do? Our options were stay there forever, at least until the Iraqis built up the strength to kick us out, or leave and allow Iraq to fall into chaos. When those are the only two options, that's not a victory and no reasonable person would ever believe that it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkpunk
The problem is the French had control over Vietnam into the 1950's and then relinquished it and we saw what happened, communist take over of the north and then a war fairly similar to the Iraqi war.
Indeed. But we did the exact same thing. Both wars started on a false premise, both wars a complete failure (for the same reason).
I guess the real question is why we haven't learned anything from the Cold War?
Sure he was an evil corrupt dictator but he was no actual threat to us and he kept the Middle East in order with an iron fist.
At the time a ME terror network had demonstrated their ability to deliver blows on US soil, and Saddam had a history of research and application of advanced weaponry, including nukes, chem, and bio. An alliance between the two was an accident waiting to happen. It is that simple.
Prior to 2002, most national and international offi
cials and experts believed that Iraq likely had research
programs and some stores of hidden chemical
or biological weapons and maintained interest in a
program to develop nuclear weapons.
Is this the SAME CIA who gave Congress via, the Senate and House Intelligence Committees the info over the years that they based their quote on?
At the time of the Duelfer report, the CIA (actually, an international team, 1400 strong, with British and Australian experts as well) had had full access to every nook, cranny, interrogation report and whatnot inside Iraq. For a full year and 5 months after "the end of major combat operations". To the tune of a round billion dollars. And with every motivation in the world to prove their organization and the administration right.
When after all that, the CIA still had to concede that there was b.gger-all, I find that quite believable, yes.
Sure he was an evil corrupt dictator but he was no actual threat to us and he kept the Middle East in order with an iron fist.
You call invading Kuwait, attacking Iran, using chemical weapons, and refusing to allow UN inspectors to verify he wasn't building WMD "keeping the Middle East in order"?
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