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Spider
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Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (Spider) wrote:
>
> >Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote...
>
> >> Huh? 14 UN resolutions over 12 years constitutes "no diplomacy"?
> >
> >Yes, that's exactly right. It's easy to say something and pretend you're doing something. It's
> >quite another to actually go out and talk to folks to get them to see your position. Getting
> >others "on-board" is what "leadership" is about. Charging off into the sunset isn't.
>
> Leadership is also about doing the right thing.
Oh, yes, most definitely. But what happens when "the right thing" is not so clear to everyone? If it
were JUST France, then people would laugh and say, "yeah, so what? Go drink some wine and call us up
next time you need your ass liberated." But it isn't. You have to be able to convince people what
"the right thing" is. If you can't make it clear, then maybe it's not "the right thing" after all.
> France (for whatever reasons) made it clear they were never going to be "on board", and Bush and
> Blair decided enough is enough.
Never? Never is a long time. When you work hard, and pull folks to your side, the last remaining
people start to not matter as much. Like it or not, France's population does not agree, and Chirac
is their representative. Democracy and all that, right?
Like I said, if were ONLY France, who cares?
> I couldn't agree more with their assessment - and we'll know soon enough whether they were right
> or horribly wrong.
More conservative "black and white" blather. Getting rid of Saddam and WMD are good things. What
happens during and after might not turn out so well. We don't know. Nobody does.
> Of course, Scud missiles that "Saddam doesn't have" falling out of the sky on the way to Kuwait
> should give you a strong hint as to the outcome of the WMD issue...
Right. Last I checked, Scuds could not reach the U.S. Possession of Scuds doesn't mean much.
I have no doubt WMD will be "found." Or evidence of production or whatever. Sort of like nuclear
program materials were "found," hmmm?
I don't assign much credibility anywhere here.
> (and the effectiveness of the UN weapons inspections - if they can't find a Scud and its massive
> launch vehicle, how are they going to find underground labs?).
Do you know the scale of a Scud launcher to the size of Iraq? When you give the inspectors three
months, and then say "you guys aren't effective," it seems like it was never really ever going to be
effective, hmmm? Almost like the war was a forgone conclusion, and that our oh-so-honest president
was lying all along? See how these issues cut both ways? This is why so many people are ambivalent.
> >> >The conscripts will welcome the chance at real food.
> >>
> >> Hope they don't screw up and get the pork chop MREs! ;-)
> >
> >D'OH! Yeah, well - the turkey ala king is OK. [shudder]
>
> What was it ZZ Top said - "as long as it's not too blue"?
Ah yes - a classic. "TV Dinners" is a fine blues tune.
> I hope they packed a lot of those MREs... looks like they're having a "lot of company".
Yes, the 51st Division was a stunner, but maybe not so much in retrospect. Well done, guys.
Spider
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (Spider) wrote:
>
> >Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote...
>
> >> Huh? 14 UN resolutions over 12 years constitutes "no diplomacy"?
> >
> >Yes, that's exactly right. It's easy to say something and pretend you're doing something. It's
> >quite another to actually go out and talk to folks to get them to see your position. Getting
> >others "on-board" is what "leadership" is about. Charging off into the sunset isn't.
>
> Leadership is also about doing the right thing.
Oh, yes, most definitely. But what happens when "the right thing" is not so clear to everyone? If it
were JUST France, then people would laugh and say, "yeah, so what? Go drink some wine and call us up
next time you need your ass liberated." But it isn't. You have to be able to convince people what
"the right thing" is. If you can't make it clear, then maybe it's not "the right thing" after all.
> France (for whatever reasons) made it clear they were never going to be "on board", and Bush and
> Blair decided enough is enough.
Never? Never is a long time. When you work hard, and pull folks to your side, the last remaining
people start to not matter as much. Like it or not, France's population does not agree, and Chirac
is their representative. Democracy and all that, right?
Like I said, if were ONLY France, who cares?
> I couldn't agree more with their assessment - and we'll know soon enough whether they were right
> or horribly wrong.
More conservative "black and white" blather. Getting rid of Saddam and WMD are good things. What
happens during and after might not turn out so well. We don't know. Nobody does.
> Of course, Scud missiles that "Saddam doesn't have" falling out of the sky on the way to Kuwait
> should give you a strong hint as to the outcome of the WMD issue...
Right. Last I checked, Scuds could not reach the U.S. Possession of Scuds doesn't mean much.
I have no doubt WMD will be "found." Or evidence of production or whatever. Sort of like nuclear
program materials were "found," hmmm?
I don't assign much credibility anywhere here.
> (and the effectiveness of the UN weapons inspections - if they can't find a Scud and its massive
> launch vehicle, how are they going to find underground labs?).
Do you know the scale of a Scud launcher to the size of Iraq? When you give the inspectors three
months, and then say "you guys aren't effective," it seems like it was never really ever going to be
effective, hmmm? Almost like the war was a forgone conclusion, and that our oh-so-honest president
was lying all along? See how these issues cut both ways? This is why so many people are ambivalent.
> >> >The conscripts will welcome the chance at real food.
> >>
> >> Hope they don't screw up and get the pork chop MREs! ;-)
> >
> >D'OH! Yeah, well - the turkey ala king is OK. [shudder]
>
> What was it ZZ Top said - "as long as it's not too blue"?
Ah yes - a classic. "TV Dinners" is a fine blues tune.
> I hope they packed a lot of those MREs... looks like they're having a "lot of company".
Yes, the 51st Division was a stunner, but maybe not so much in retrospect. Well done, guys.
Spider