[lit-ideas] Re: Should Chirac join Bush in oblivion?

Michael writes: "M.C. Could you perhaps bring us up to date on this 
"scandal"?  Does it 20 really compare, in seriousness, to Bush's 
destruction of Iraq and murder of 100,000 Iraqis and more than 1000 GI's?"
_____

By way of learning from each other, I was hoping we could all bring each 
other up to date on this scandal. Saddam siphoned off an estimated $10 
billion from the Oil-for-Food program, getting illegal payments from 
companies buying Iraqi oil, and through kickbacks from those selling 
goods to Iraq, right under the noses of U.N. It's possibly the biggest 
scandal in U.N. history.

Does it compare in seriousness to Bush's bloody "liberation" of Iraq? 
Yes, in that it propped up Saddam's regime, gave him the confidence that 
the US would be deterred from action, and set the stage for the Iraq War 
as it has unfolded.

Is it the same as a bullet in the brain? No. Did it help to create the 
conditions for that bullet in the brain? Yes.

Before we go further in this discussion, I want to ensure that my 
position on this matter is clear. The actions of Russia, France, and the 
UN bureaucrats in this scandal do NOT exculpate the Bush administration 
from their decision to invade Iraq and from the methods (or lack of 
methods) they employed.

My motive is to examine the larger, more tragic picture here. Those who 
want the keep the focus on Bush may lose sight of a larger tragedy.

------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

Other related posts: