Dan wrote:
What would be better, but not realistic, is if the world were to stand united against Iraq.
Even better, and even less realistic would be the people of Iraq rising up against Saddam and toppling his power base and then establishing a democracy.
Unreal, I know, but not unheard of. Take Brazil, for instance. We endured 20 years of a brutal military dictatorship where censorship, torture and political one-mindedness were the norm. Some tried to oppose the regime, but were viciously persecuted.
Of course, we never tried to expand our territory then (although every once and a while I hear something about plans for invading Argentina drafted and kept "for a rainy day") and pretty much kept to ourselves. So nobody paid much attention.
During that time, we achieved quite some things. The nuclear cooperation with Germany, expansion and integration within national territory just to name a few. The people even supported the regime in the beginning.
But the constant state propaganda about terrorists and the constant reports of brutal torture of political prisioners finally became too much. The people began to question the generals who ran the country. More prisons were made, and more people rallied to the streets. Eventually, a civil president was elected and slowly democracy worked its way back.
This process took 20 years, and then 20 years more to consolidate the new democracy - but hey, now we are one of the more stable democracies of the world. We even have elected a leftist president who goes out of his way to please the market
I do not know if it would be possible in Iraq, given our cultural differences. But Iīm a firm believer in the right to Self-Determination of a people. I question myself if war is really the best option; if there isnīt any other way of getting Saddam and his cronies out of power. It seems, however, that in a matter of weeks this will be made irrelevant.
And for whatīs worth: Powell did convince me.
No matter where you go, there you are.
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