[lit-ideas] Re: Dark Thoughts on Iraq
- From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:58:12 -0400
Eric: It's a lose-lose game for the Americans: we get trashed as
"world policemen" .... but on the other hand, nobody else has the
capacity or political will to take over.
Judy: .... Anyway, look, no-one made the US do this.
Eric: Thought experiment. Assume Bush lost the 2000 election, Gore
was president, and 9/11 never happened. Wouldn't Iraq still be a
mounting problem?
For instance, US and UK would still be enforcing the no-fly zone as
per the '91 peace treaty; the UN embargo would be eroding as
Saddam's willingness to mistreat his population under the
Oil-for-Palaces program made the embargo increasingly unpopular.
Because of oil contracts between Total Petrofina and Saddam, France
would always block UN action there. Because of their own potential
oil deals, Russia and China would do likewise.
After the UN embargo fell apart, Saddam would rearm, with his sons
ready to take over after their daddy's death.
It would be a slow festering mess, getting more and more dangerous
and intractable for the whole world. (As opposed to the present
intractable and dangerous mess for the USA.)
In this alternative future for Iraq, how would it be resolved?
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