RE: Is world better without Saddam?
December 30, 2015 at 10:53 am
(This post was last modified: December 30, 2015 at 11:02 am by The Grand Nudger.)
Before I respond, I want to point out that this is precisely what I commented upon posts ago. What a convenient world for a despot, were the indirect threats he can leverage against his population are seen as valid and compelling to us. "If you get rid of me, even more people will die". Oh, you're -absolutely right-...continue being a despot, with our blessing.
I think you'll find that real experts predicted such a wide range of future states as to cover any eventuality or outcome. Cheerleaders and doomcriers, and everything in-between. This is immaterial, as those same experts, when they predicted negative outcomes, also provided us with strategies and suggestions as to how to avoid those outcomes. This is the very core of our failure in that conflict. Not only did we start into it as a blunder, we continued to blunder. It was not impossible to remove Saddam without all of the rest of this happening. Saddam wasn't some cosmically necessary piece of the region upon which all outcomes depended. Our actions, now, have had a greater effect than Saddams. The man and his regime have been completely eclipsed in relevance. If we want to point to some reason that the middle east is what it is now, we should look to our own actions, rather than lay the collapse on the removal of a strongman.
I think you'll find that real experts predicted such a wide range of future states as to cover any eventuality or outcome. Cheerleaders and doomcriers, and everything in-between. This is immaterial, as those same experts, when they predicted negative outcomes, also provided us with strategies and suggestions as to how to avoid those outcomes. This is the very core of our failure in that conflict. Not only did we start into it as a blunder, we continued to blunder. It was not impossible to remove Saddam without all of the rest of this happening. Saddam wasn't some cosmically necessary piece of the region upon which all outcomes depended. Our actions, now, have had a greater effect than Saddams. The man and his regime have been completely eclipsed in relevance. If we want to point to some reason that the middle east is what it is now, we should look to our own actions, rather than lay the collapse on the removal of a strongman.
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