Omar:It was the conservativesnot "the Left" that supported Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, as well as Marcos, Pinoche and many other useful dictators.
Eric: Omar is conflating Cold War strategy -- when the future of humanity was at stake -- with post Cold War strategy, when much less is at stake.
If we were really that oil-driven and cynical, we'd have left Saddam in power, cut oil deals with him, and hushed up the 300,000+ Amnesty International believes to be in mass graves in Iraq. Then we could turn our attention to Venezuela, which would have been a walk in the park -- short lines of supply to the US and easily conquered.
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