If I Were President: Iraq
;The War in Iraq - '''Oppose''' {nid 2E}: I will start off by saying I don't ''totally'' oppose the war in Iraq, just they way it was handled: the way it was done was basically a demonstration to the world that what the US stands for is "Might Makes Right" rather than Rule of Law and order. I do think the UN needs a backbone, but it's probably good that it doesn't have one until there are tighter controls on civil rights (and by that I mean freedom from Socialism). {nid 2G}
; {nid 2L}: The main thing though is that by rushing into Iraq, we blew the best opportunity we had to demonstrate to the Middle East what are stated values can mean: if we'd spent ''half'' what we're spending in Iraq to instead rebuild Afghanistan faster and help get their economy going again so farmers wouldn't have to turn to opium to make a living, we could have created a model society right in the middle of the part of the world that needs it the most. Instead, we've given most of the world all too many reasons to hate us. Thank You Very Much George. {nid 2H}
;Turning Over More Political Authority to U.N. - '''Support''' {nid 2I}: As I said above, this has be handled cautiously. For starters, I think that only democratically elected representatives to the UN should have voting rights. Or at least the "Permanent Members" with veto power. Dictators obviously should have no control over democracies, so this is a prerequisite to actually giving the UN any power. But even as it is today, it's inexcusable for them to sit on their duffs, for example when Saddam was threatening Kuwait, or even after he invaded, and call for sanctions. People ''died'' while they were debating. They need a standing policy: if you invade, you will be removed from power. Period. {nid 2C}
; {nid 2M}: At the same time, activities like reconstruction should be joint efforts, both from simple economics, and because then there's not even the appearance of the favoritism and corruption that dogs the work in Iraq with Bush's ties to Halliburton. That's not to say it wouldn't happen, but with joint efforts and proper oversight, it should be minimized. {nid 2J}
;Immediate Withdrawal of U.S. Troops - '''Strongly Oppose''' {nid 2K}: Now that we're there, the worst possible thing we could do would be to just up and leave. The place would be total anarchy and chaos, and you'd probably have an even worse regime in place by the time the dust settled. But not before thousands, if not millions, died in the fighting. We went there, and now 0we've got to clean up the mess we made. If we can talk others into helping us, so much the better, but we can't just walk away. {nid 2D}
Posted by abatie at March 18, 2004 01:06 PM