islamic justice arab style in dubai, page-15

re: sunnyjim supports kowtowing Well I suppose that makes a lot more sense than the crap our pollies are throwing at us, not that I agree with everything your saying.

The main thing I would agree with you on is that a balance of power in the middle east must be maintained, while the world is so dependant on oil.

Where we differ is that I believe that the power is in balance now, but if the US is allowed to continue down this road, then they will reach the stage that Hitler strived for. Total world domination. From there things can get scary for all of us.

I realize that Russia and France have multibillion dollar oil contracts with Iraq, but if Saddams regime is removed, then all of those contracts become void putting all of that oil up for grabs. With the US in control of the situation, who do you think those new contracts will go to. That is why Russia and to a smaller extent France have been opposed to a regime change.

Actually, I think the sum of those oil contracts is in the zillions, not billions.

And that point you made about the US having the ability to take Iraq's oil during the Gulf war isn't as simple as you may think. Don't you think the rest of the world would have something to say if they sent in their drilling rigs and starting shipping away oil. Even if they did talk us into believing it was for our own safety, it takes a long time to get that much oil out of the ground. That's too long for them to leave the troops there to protect the operation.

I think it would be much easier to enforce a regime change, voiding all the oil contracts so that it can be taken legally.

So I think one of the big questions is why did the US pull back from the gulf war? Why were they not able to topple Saddams government back then? Did he make a deal and then break it? Were they saving the main confrontation for a more politically strategic time?

What are the odds of G. Bush jnr finishing what his dad started a decade ago? Just the fact that his son has become president is enough to tell me that the great US of A does not even come close to being a true democracy. I mean, how many people live in the US and how many of its presidents have been linked genetically?!

There are far too many unanswered questions, and instead of answering them they are throwing us all these half truths mixed with outright lies. It's no wonder that many of us have a problem with excepting anything they tell us. It's like the boy who cried wolf.

But putting all of that aside, I think the most important thing now is to maintain a balance of power. Why do you think the US gave Saddam Iraq and a mass of weapons in the first place? To keep a balance of power in the mid east. To keep Iran under control. When Saddam was becoming too powerful, the US went in to downsize his army... maintaining a balance.

So what has changed? It's never been proven that Iraq has nukes, nor the ability to make them. On the contrary, it has been pointed out time and again by previous arms inspecters and other experts that there is no way he has anything like this. He may, and probably does still have chemical and/or biological weapons left over from what was given by the US. But then again he could have used them all up in all the wars that have passed. If he does have any of these left, they will be stored away in one of the many ancient underground palaces and networks. You know that Iraq has more (known) archaeological sites than any other place on Earth. Many hiding places. I don't disagree that he is hiding something. We all hide things. I just don't believe he has nukes. There's no evidence to support that he does.

US intelligence says that they know he has nukes, from information gathered through their spy network. So why not tell the inspectors where they are, instead of sending them on a wild goose chase? I'll tell you why, it's because they don't have any. Simple.

It's nice to be on the winning team, but if things get out of hand over there, none of us will be winners. This sort of shit is what breeds real (stereotypical) terrorists.

It's been said that this is one of the reasons that the US pulled back from the gulf war. Why they didn't finish the job. But also, it is better the enemy you know, then the one you don't. So with that in mind, I wouldn't be too surprised if the US does have an ace up her sleeve, in that she may not need to get rid of Saddam to void those oil contracts... maintaining balance in the region whilst also continuing in their relationship with the enemy they know. I'm not sure if they could do that, but if there's a way, I'm sure that they've already thought it through.

What will be really interesting is to see where Israel will fit into all of this, being America's only true ally in the region. I have read that Saddam has been helping the palestinians which would be pissing off the Jews. And we all should know by now how much power the Jews hold in America. So it's deffinately not a black and white senario. More like a tangled spider's web.

There is never one single reason for war, but there is only ever one good reason... self defence.

A pre-emptive strike is not self defence. It is ruthless and presumptious, and the very notion can only serve to spread feelings of fear and suspicion amongst already restless neighbours.

Too many people have seen the endless video footage of the NY and Bali bombings, and been swept with the belief that war has found us. We are under attack. But the sad truth is that those two incidents are nothing in comparison to what has happened in Afghanistan and Iraq already. The war has not come home yet. That was only a taste of what is to come if the international bullying continues. You don't have to be a braniac to work that one out. There's no amount of security that can be put in place to protect people against the unknown. If people are supressed to the point where they don't believe their lives are worth living, then often if this leads to feelings of anger and that anger is focused at the people responsible for their supression, then they will use their last breath of life to cause pain to those people. That may be a long sentence, but it's a simple concept. Depression can do strange things to people. So instead of fixing the symptoms of terrorism, we need to be looking at fixing the cause of the disease. By putting only a small portion of the war budget into ending poverty and supression around the world, we could near on end the problem of terrorism.

But that isn't the real problem is it. Well not as far as our leaders are concerned. They actually benefit from terrorism. The real problem is still unknown... to us.

So some of us choose to follow our leaders blindly, in good faith. While others choose to question their decisions, realizing that they are only human like the rest of us, prone to mistakes. That is why a democratic government is better than a dictatorship. If you give one man too much power it will go to his head, and lead to mistakes. How many new powers have our leaders gained during the war on terrorism? How much has Alqaedo and Saddam gained?

So knowing that terrorism is the use of violence for political reasons, who are the real terrorists?

So yes, I do get it SunnyJim. Sometimes a lot more than I'de like to. Life is a lot easier when you can't see the dark side of our civilization ~ the great price that is being paid for our everyday comforts.

The Japanese certainly shined with reguards to their electronics achievements... after they were put in thier place. Everything at a price, and in every great civilization comes a time when the price of advancement is too high to pay... unless you make someone else pay. That's where your concience should step in. But not everyone listens to their concience. That's why we have murders amongst us... in all walks of life. Even at the very top I'm afraid.

So what's a man with a concience to do, in a world gone mad with greed, fear, hatred and anger?

Talk to people that vote... or shut up, go back to work, and pretend that everything is alright.

The second option is impossible, so I think I'll have to stick with option one.

Peace.