06-21-2008, 12:55 AM
Well, I debated if it was worth replying to this thread any more since we're obviously at an impasse. Saying the same things over again won't get us anywhere...but anyway...here it is.
In invading Iraq, the US invaded a country which had not attacked or threatened the US, and which did not pose an immediate threat. The US did so with no kind of international legitimacy (the "coalition of the willing" was a farce, with a few exceptions, such as the UK and Tonga). And the US attempted to justify its actions with false and exaggerated claims.
The prosecution of unnecessary and illegitimate wars goes far beyond the bounds of what is wise or acceptable. Even if someone were to support such a war in the case of Iraq (because, say, they were concerned about Iraq's threat to long-term security if it were able to restart its weapons programs, or because, say, they wished to ensure the continued flow of oil from the middle east), how can anyone justify the Bush administration's deception in selling the war or laying out their reasons for invading Iraq?
The result has been a financial, humanitarian, and strategic disaster.
And one last comment. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before the US invaded. It was the US invasion that enabled them to enter the country, allowing them to ignite a bloody sectarian civil war in 2006/07. The day the US went into Iraq, you can be sure that the happiest man on earth was not George Bush but Osama bin Laden.
In invading Iraq, the US invaded a country which had not attacked or threatened the US, and which did not pose an immediate threat. The US did so with no kind of international legitimacy (the "coalition of the willing" was a farce, with a few exceptions, such as the UK and Tonga). And the US attempted to justify its actions with false and exaggerated claims.
The prosecution of unnecessary and illegitimate wars goes far beyond the bounds of what is wise or acceptable. Even if someone were to support such a war in the case of Iraq (because, say, they were concerned about Iraq's threat to long-term security if it were able to restart its weapons programs, or because, say, they wished to ensure the continued flow of oil from the middle east), how can anyone justify the Bush administration's deception in selling the war or laying out their reasons for invading Iraq?
The result has been a financial, humanitarian, and strategic disaster.
And one last comment. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before the US invaded. It was the US invasion that enabled them to enter the country, allowing them to ignite a bloody sectarian civil war in 2006/07. The day the US went into Iraq, you can be sure that the happiest man on earth was not George Bush but Osama bin Laden.