Quote:
Originally posted by norompanlasolas:
maybe for the first time in history people will be able to turn the path of their "leaders". Blair already spoke about giving more time to weapons inspectors. lets hope everybody does the same and change their warmongering ways.
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More time will be given, but it isn't being given to the inspectors. Hans Blix has said that with complete Iraqi cooperation the inspector's job didn't have to take as long as it already has taken. With Iraqi cooperation, it could have proceeded at a brisk pace in '91 and been a distant memory by now.
Since it has been made clear the inspectors can never do their job without complete Iraqi cooperation, it's clear the extra time has been given to Saddam Hussein and his government. Hopefully, he will use it to save his people from further hardship by completely complying with the UN.
More time will be given, and if, in the end, a war is averted and the same end result is achieved (the disarming of Iraq), the SC members who stood strong against military action will have much to be proud of, but what will happen when the report on March 15 says the same thing that the report on February 15 said? The February report of course said the same thing the previous report had said, and those report pretty much matched the inspector's reports from the 90's with regard to Iraqi cooperation. This is the same level of cooperation which caused the inspectors to be withdrawn. Maybe this time it won't take 7 years to figure out the inspectors can't work with the Iraqis because the Iraqis won't cooperate completely.
What will people think when the UN is told again that Iraq is not completely cooperating, and the inspectors won't be able to do their job without Iraqi cooperation? They'll be applauded again for avoiding war, won't they? What about when the report comes back in March of 2004?
What happens if the US completely backs down and brings the troops home? Who's going to pressure Saddam to submit? The raving praise offered over the few Iraqi concessions can be directly attributed to the threat of military force, and the overwhelming majority of military force I see threatening Iraq is US. If we pack up and go home, how long will the "carrots" Iraq is offering to the UN last? Maybe once the US troops are gone, the floodgates will open and ALL will be revealed, but I somehow doubt it.
Am I a warmonger? Well, by definition, in this instance yes! I urge war as does my government. I don't crave war. I don't enjoy war. I don't think war is the answer to everything, but I do urge war, so, in this instance, I'm a warmonger.
I hope in two years someone can say, "Ronn remember when you encouraged the wasting of all those innocent lives back in '03? Aren't you glad it didn't happen because it wasn't necessary?" And I hope my answer will be yes.
It still seems weird to me that those who put the highest faith in the inspectors being able to solve this problem think that more time and more inspectors are the answer when the inspectors themselves have said that the only additional ingredient needed for the disarmament of Iraq is the cooperation of Iraq.
All the non-military nations say they want Iraq to comply completely, but the only thing they can offer in the way of making it happen is "continued pressure". Pressure which, for the greatest part, comes from 100k+ US troops. Isn't it great that they can demand peace without having to pay the price for fielding the army?
After the SC meeting on Friday the French Foreign Minister talked to the press. He said the pressure being exerted on Iraq was the reason for its (limited) compliance. When asked if France would be willing to send troops with the US to increase or sustain the pressure (not to act) he said no, the current pressure "was enough". Isn't it great that the US is exerting
just enough pressure for peace and those who insist on peace don't have to pay the bill?
Do I belittle the anti-war protesters? NO, I don’t.
I respect their decisions. I just hope they base their decisions on the correct information. If they are for peace no matter what, then more power to them, but for the anti-war protesters who think the answer to this problem is more inspectors and more time for those inspectors, I say, you aren't listening to what the inspectors are saying.
Oppose the war for any reason... except the ones the inspector's reports prove invalid.