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<P>Coop,</P>
<P>I appreciate your polite response. However, while I agree with at least one statement, I don't agree with the rest of your post.</P>
<P>I agree with your statement that it's crucial that Iraqis control their own affairs, and the sooner the better. However, I don't think that's been our goal in Iraq, and we showed that by privatizing as much of their economy as we could, turning it over to American economic interests. Look at what Bremner did before leaving. We cannot claim to bring them freedom and democracy and then grab their assets (let alone continue to kill their citizens, sometimes accidentally, all too often on purpose). </P>
<P>I think we went in with the intention of creating a puppet state, of setting up long-term bases and a government that would 'invite' us to keep troops in Iraq. I think this because Paul Wolfowitz said essentially the same thing, that we would be able to move our troops out of Saudi Arabia and to Iraq. I think we did this for some of the reasons that Ted stated, to ensure a steady supply of oil. I've tried without success to get Pat Kraut to identify the reasons we went to war, and I doubt any of these are on her list.</P>
<P>We insist on defining those who fight us as terrorists. The militias that fight the Sunnis are Shiite and Kurdish; I don't see how this can do anything except cause further strains between these communities. We can keep on calling people trying to oust an invading foreign power (that's redundant, isn't it?) terrorists, but while that label may work here, it doesn' t fool people there.</P>
<P>If the elections go well, the Shiites will have more power than in the past; I think they will tolerate our presence as long as they continue to get what they want. What will happen if they want an Iran-style government? Will we try to stop that?</P>
<P>Let's say they don't try to establish a theocratic government. If we go to war with Iran, how then will Iraqi Shiites react? The drumbeat against Iran seems to be starting, earlier than I expected; I thought the Bush Administration would wait a while. But the statements and articles I'm reading are a lot like what we started to see in the summer of '02, when the campaign against Iraq started to heat up. Do you think we have the military resources to wage both these campaigns?</P>
<P>As for Afghanistan, seems to me their president is the mayor of Kabul, and that's about it. We abandoned it, and will probably regret that decision.</P>
<P>I ask you again: Can you point to a moment in history when a foreign power was able to establish a democratic government in the Middle East at the point of a gun (or sword?) Specifically in Iraq? I think our experience in Iraq already mirrors that of the English in the early Twentieth Century. Yep, I'm cribbing from Robert Fisk, but he's been spot-on since this war started.</P>
<P>Sunil Ramalingam<BR><BR></P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>>From: wocsom@earthlink.net
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: wocsom@earthlink.net
<DIV></DIV>>To: vision2020@moscow.com
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Re: The consequences of losing the Iraq war
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:55:28 -0500
<DIV></DIV>>
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