[Thermodyne]

It will not be murder, it will be war. If they fight, then they die by the thousands. If they surrender, they will be well treated, this they already know from past experience. I would suspect that a conscript Iraqi solder is better off as a POW, they have few rights in their Army.

Lets face it guys, if the US decides to finish this, we will do it regardless of what Europe says. And irregardless of what we decide to do, they have lost their Middle Eastern cash cow. No more markets for manufactured goods (and we are not talking about TV’s and fridges) and no more lucrative oil exploration/delivery contracts. And after this all settles down, they can continue to flap their jaws about the embargo violations that they have been profiting from. You can bet that this is the high water mark for them, when Saddam is gone, several countries will have a lot of explaining to do.

Many Posts ago, someone entered the forum with a post containing a revised history of American involvement in the region. Let correct a few things. After the Last big war, the area was in the British area of influence and they adjusted the borders as was their right. Nations/States that supported the Nazi’s were not treated as well as allies were. And Israel was created in an area that fully supported Germany. So the US had very little to do with how the region is laid out today.

America supported Israel and Iran during the 50’s 60’s 70’s, and this was originally to counter Soviet influence and have a presence in the region. In the 70’s, the political situation in Iran caused us to look for new allies in the region. When war broke out between Iraq and Iran, it was in America’s best interest to see Iran get a bloody nose, and it was in the best interest of Israel to see Iraq preoccupied with the Iranians. Se we began to support Iraq. It should be noted that Iraq fought the war with its Soviet supplied weapons with a few high tech French pieces tossed in for good measure, as they controlled it all from their German built facilities. At no time did we have what would be called good relations with Iraq. And we have never been more that a minor arms source for them. The Soviets, French and Germans take care of Iraq’s weapons needs.

IMHO, it is good that America will go it almost alone this time. We will finish it once and for all, and we will not have to worry about the interests of a bunch of allies that actually contribute almost nothing to the war. And when this war is over, we can help pay the bill by closing down our operations across Europe. With all of the talk coming from the UN, I think the French and Germans can take care of Europe. Well at least until they decide to take care of each other, again! Perhaps England and the US will be smart enough to sit that one out.

[ March 08, 2003, 01:43: Message edited by: Thermodyne ]