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Date Posted: 10:26:32 03/19/03 Wed
Author: Icon
Subject: An observation or two...
In reply to: Goktimus Prime 's message, "The Art of War" on 07:52:50 03/19/03 Wed

>Ari Fleischer stated that even IF Saddam Hussein was to
>leave Iraq now, that the invasion would continue. In
>short, NOTHING is going to stop this invasion now.

Agreed, which I why I found the vote in the UK Parliament to be something of a hollow event.

>That's not going to happen. Put yourself in the boots of
>an Iraqi soldier. You've joined the army to protect your
>nation. Your nation is attacked my foreign invaders.

>Okay, you may not like your leader and you may feel that
>the actions of your leader may have triggered this
>invasion -- but at the same time, your country is under
>attack! Would it not be your duty as a patriot to stand
>and defend your homeland, regardless of politics?

Not in this case. You're applying democratic standards to a non-democratic situation.

From what I understand of the situation, serving in the military in Iraq is something that you are more likely to be strongarmed into than volunteer for. I have read reports of it being made clear what would happen to your family if you do not enlist.

I do think that given half a chance a lot of the Iraqi soldiers will surrender (It apparently happened in the first Gulf War) in the hope that Saddam is deposed and something more tolerable put in it's place. Whether that happens I can't predict.

Saddam's personal guard are another matter, they are fanatics, but there are relatively few of them.

>In any war, the people who will suffer the most will be
>civilians. Men will die in the fighting. Women and
>children who are not killed in the crossfire will be
>widowed and orphaned. Those who survive will try to flee
>the fighting. They will become refugees. Will the
>countries that have forced them to flee, willingly accept
>them, or incarcerate them as "illegal immigrants"?

Indeed, this is one of the many tragedies awaiting us from all this no matter what the outcome. One can only hope this is a relatively short conflict.

>I am personally extremely disappointed that the United
>States and some of its Allies have openly defied the
>United Nations and begun this war. By doing so, the United
>States is operating outside of the overall International
>community and has made itself a rogue state.

The problem there is I don't think any country, or group of countries can afford to have the only world superpower left as a rogue state. There'll be griping and whining from many of them, but I can't see the US being made a pariah state for long by most of the rest of the "Western world". The Middle East is a whole different issue.

>* Australian troops, being SAS, will most likely be
>deployed first as advanced reconnaissance and also to
>acquire ground intelligence and establish surface to air
>laser equipment to assist in more accurate air raids.

Recce'ing is also going to be a British task, according to the news this morning.

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Replies:

  • I can hope. -- Perceptor II, 19:10:22 03/19/03 Wed
  • a quick reply -- Goktimus Prime, 00:44:44 03/20/03 Thu
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