OT: Election 2004

[dogscoff]

We went to liberate it from an terrible dictator.

Did 'we'? I was told it was to capture Osama Bin Laden... for a while. Then when it became clear no one was believing that lie I was told it was to get rid of the WMDs... for a while.Then when it became clear no one was believing that lie either I was finally told it was to get rid of Saddam.

This was a selfish, brutish and destructive war that has had many, many bad consequences because of the way it was fought. Getting rid of Saddam was just a happy side effect. A war to depose Saddam as its primary objective would have been waged differently, and would have had different results for the Iraqi ppl, and would have had my support.

You cannot say the world is not a better place because of what has been done in Iraq.

I just did :-)

There is no proof that anything has happened with Halliburton

Well its links with the current US govenrment is matter of record, in terms of ex-employees, campaign contirbutions etc. On the other side, you have the fact that the contracts to rebuild Iraq were given to Halliburton (and a number of other, similarly aligned companies) after a closed bidding process.

I heard on the news today that unemplyment in Iraq is so bad that kidnapping is now one of the biggest industries. Why not give some of those rebuilding contracts to Iraqi firms? The did an impressive job of rebuilding after the first war, and that was with international sanctions in place.