From: Nicholas Morcom
Category: Other stuff
Date: 06 March 2003
In Response To Jasper Joffe's Post:
I am not British, so I make no pretense of telling Mr. Blair what he should or should not do. However, I noted a number of weaknesses in your argument and thought it might be 'fun' to point them out. [i.e. Maria is making me]
* No case for war... That really isn't saying anything. Blair has made a case for war. You might not be convinced by it, but without saying why it is an empty argument.
* Killing thousands =/ peace... You are right that war is not peace. Had the French invaded Germany a second time to enforce the Versailles Treaty when Hitler remilitarized the Rhine, thousands would have potentially died. How many millions would have been saved? Clearly this isn't the same situation, but you argument is so simple, I figure you don't deserve a better response.
* No coherent plan for post-Iraq + can't forcefully build democracies... Just because you and I don't know of the post-Iraq plans doesn't mean there aren't any. Feel free to bet against their existence, but I for one think that is rather naive. Force can be used to build democracies (see Germany and Japan).
* Attacking will increase terrorism... Same argument made against invasion of Afganistan. One cannot sit on ones hands and hope that others will like them in situations like this. Weakness in the international arena is what invites attacks, not strength. Not the best response, but this is all hypothetical anyways. If I had to bet, the terrorists are going to keep attacking irrespective of Iraq.
* No proof of Iraq/terrorist/mass destruction... I believe the French revealed a few weeks ago that an Al Queda leader was harbored in Iraq and was given some sort of chemical weapons training.
* Better to use diplomacy to disarm... I agree completely. You are 100% off point, but I agree with the notion. What if diplomacy doesn't work? Isn't that the question we face? Is 12 years not enough to illustrate it hasn't?
* Concetrate against Al Queda... America just bagged a head guy. You underestimate the grip of our evil empire. We can crush Iraq and the terrorist network at the same time. Part of the fun of being a superpower.
Your arrogant American cowboy, Nick Morcom
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