Hortlund: meanwhile on planet earth...
Saddam Hussein has started two wars, one against Iran, one against Kuweit. He has used chemical weapons against Iran and he has used chemical weapons against insurgents in his own country.
Who cares - unless he attacks US, Canada or Mexico or one of NATO countries he can do whatever he wants. He is in Russia's backyard. China is right there, India, Israel. Let them take care of their crap. You can buy a ticket and join Kurdish resistance any day.
He rules his country the same way a mideaval baron would do it. He orders people excecuted whenever he suspects anything, no matter how trivial. He has placed relatives in all positions of power in Iraq.
Even if it was any of our concern, it is still better than his neighbours that we protect from him. How about Pakistan? Afghanistan? Much democracy there since we liberated them?
He funds numerous terrorist organizations
Not as much as Iran and Saudis & Co. And at the time we invaded him in 91 russa was a big terrorism supporter too.
he is implementing an agressive Chemical and Biological weapons program. It is a known fact that he has large stockpiles of Nerve gas and Anthrax, it is also widely known that he is agressively seeking to get his hands on nuclear weapons or radiaoctive material. He is also trying to obtain the smallpox virus from Russia.
He is surrounded by medieval religious militant states who all hate him - who said those weapons were against us? I do not see you calling to attack Pakistan or India or Israel for the same reason.
Like it or not, he has named the USA and Israel as his main enemies.
Everybody named Israel as his main enamy - including Europe and more than half americans. As for US, we invaded them, whad did you expect?
I bet if we appologised and offered restitutions - or even assurance that he can take back Kuwait and Saudi, he would revert to being our best friend.
He will do whatever he can to destroy the USA and Israel.
BS. Russians could not do that, germans could not do that. He does not need to do that - plenty of our "friends" are more eager than him.
When he gets his hands on any more potent weapon of mass destruction he will use it. And he will use it against the USA.
BS. If he uses it against Saudis or Quwait, I do not care. Unless they apply to join NATO we do not have to protect them.
He will not attack Israel first since that would mean complete obliteration of Iraq (among other things). And he is not a religious fanatic willing to die.
But when that first smallpox virus bomb detonates in New York, or when that dirty bomb goes off in Seattle, he will be the one who ordered it.
I suspect that Saudis will beat him to that.
We cannot stop everyone who wants to blow us up - our security is nonexistant, our borders are open, our society is vulnerable. The safest way for us would be to mind our own business and stop pissing people off. They have anough problem of their own to worry about us.
In the real world, real people have to deal with real dangers. Saddam Hussein is a threat to the western world, he will continue to be such a threat until he is removed.
Did we defeat Soviet Union? No. And where are they? Right - our friends now.
How about China? Should we knock off their head of state?
How about Duch? Those legalised pot. Should we save them and stop bad influence on US?
Here is the main and real question:
Tell me, would you be calling for the same invasion if Iraq had never invaded Kuwait? Because I cannot see how his claim to Kuwait is linked to all those bad things.
If he was our friend and client before invasion of Kuwait and if most americans do not give a damn about Kuwait, what did change? Could it be that we declared ourselves his enemy, not the other way around?
miko