Opal Isle
10-08-2004, 02:13
7-27-04
Fear
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups or seeks to possess weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilised world and will be confronted." - George W. Bush
Why should we be afraid of fear and terror? I don't think the great FDR was talking about terrorism when he said the above quote, but I do think that his quote is much more applicable today than it has ever been before. Americans fear terror. Americans fear terror so much that they supported a war against a sovereign nation which just happened to be a dictatorship (which was propped up by the CIA) because they supposedly harbored terrorists and WMDs. Americans were so afraid that they might be attacked again that they forgot to question the motives of the Bush administration. Here is my question: Why would Saddam harbor terrorist groups? They are a threat to his power. Obviously if the United States wants to fight a war on terror and claims they will be removing governments that harbor terrorists, Saddam would be doing his best to get all the terrorists he did harbor out and then discontinue to harbor them. Saddam wants power more than anything. The United States proved in Afghanistan they were serious about fighting terrorism so why Saddam keep harboring terrorists after that point? Even if he harbored them to start with, they were long gone a few months after the United States invading Afghanistan. Let's try not to equate evilness with stupidity. Iraq was most definitely not a threat to the United States. Al Qaeda however was a threat. Al Qaeda should have been the focus of the war on terror. Why should we distract our force with Iraq? We're already overstretching our military capabilities as it is. Take care of the real threat then go on your imperial conquest Mr. Bush. Iran would have been a better target.
Now, most people who read this will want to respond and comment about how evil Mr. Hussein was. Well, the fact of the matter is I know he was an evil dictator and I know he killed a lot of his own people, but just let me point out a few things to you. FDR, who I have enormous respect for, did not attack Germany when Hitler was killing all of the Jews. He set a standard for non-pre-emptiveness which Bush shattered by attacking Iraq. Saddam Hussein killed more Kurds in the 80s than he did in the 90s but ousting him wasn't necessary during the Gulf War and in fact, the only reason we went to war with him was because he attacked our allies, the Kuwaitis. My final point is that tons of Iraqi men, women, and children are and have been dieing from cancer caused by depleted uranium shells from American and British weaponry left over from the first Gulf War. Saddam wasn't the only person killing Iraqis all these years.
In conclusion, even with the removal of Saddam, Iraq will still be a very troubling spot for many years. Life in America was even rough when we first got our indepedence. We actually fought for our indepence too. Not only were Iraqis not willing to spill their own blood for their own freedom, we also ignored the real problem in Iraq--the Kurds. The north part of Iraq, the part that was labeled as the NFZ for Hussein's air force for so many years, should be turned into a new country called Kurdistan and the Kurds should finally get their own country so they can have a nation that they want to identify to.
-Nick Griffith (http://life.short.be/)
What do you think of this http://life.short.be article?
Fear
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups or seeks to possess weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilised world and will be confronted." - George W. Bush
Why should we be afraid of fear and terror? I don't think the great FDR was talking about terrorism when he said the above quote, but I do think that his quote is much more applicable today than it has ever been before. Americans fear terror. Americans fear terror so much that they supported a war against a sovereign nation which just happened to be a dictatorship (which was propped up by the CIA) because they supposedly harbored terrorists and WMDs. Americans were so afraid that they might be attacked again that they forgot to question the motives of the Bush administration. Here is my question: Why would Saddam harbor terrorist groups? They are a threat to his power. Obviously if the United States wants to fight a war on terror and claims they will be removing governments that harbor terrorists, Saddam would be doing his best to get all the terrorists he did harbor out and then discontinue to harbor them. Saddam wants power more than anything. The United States proved in Afghanistan they were serious about fighting terrorism so why Saddam keep harboring terrorists after that point? Even if he harbored them to start with, they were long gone a few months after the United States invading Afghanistan. Let's try not to equate evilness with stupidity. Iraq was most definitely not a threat to the United States. Al Qaeda however was a threat. Al Qaeda should have been the focus of the war on terror. Why should we distract our force with Iraq? We're already overstretching our military capabilities as it is. Take care of the real threat then go on your imperial conquest Mr. Bush. Iran would have been a better target.
Now, most people who read this will want to respond and comment about how evil Mr. Hussein was. Well, the fact of the matter is I know he was an evil dictator and I know he killed a lot of his own people, but just let me point out a few things to you. FDR, who I have enormous respect for, did not attack Germany when Hitler was killing all of the Jews. He set a standard for non-pre-emptiveness which Bush shattered by attacking Iraq. Saddam Hussein killed more Kurds in the 80s than he did in the 90s but ousting him wasn't necessary during the Gulf War and in fact, the only reason we went to war with him was because he attacked our allies, the Kuwaitis. My final point is that tons of Iraqi men, women, and children are and have been dieing from cancer caused by depleted uranium shells from American and British weaponry left over from the first Gulf War. Saddam wasn't the only person killing Iraqis all these years.
In conclusion, even with the removal of Saddam, Iraq will still be a very troubling spot for many years. Life in America was even rough when we first got our indepedence. We actually fought for our indepence too. Not only were Iraqis not willing to spill their own blood for their own freedom, we also ignored the real problem in Iraq--the Kurds. The north part of Iraq, the part that was labeled as the NFZ for Hussein's air force for so many years, should be turned into a new country called Kurdistan and the Kurds should finally get their own country so they can have a nation that they want to identify to.
-Nick Griffith (http://life.short.be/)
What do you think of this http://life.short.be article?