[PEN-L:29575] Re: Rumours of war on Iraq

[topp8564@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Unfortunately, there is a "conceivable solution to the Palestine question" -
expulsion - which, if Martin van Creveld and others are to be believed, is a
very serious incentive for Israel's support for a war on Iraq. Such support has
indeed been very forthcoming.

As for big-picture strategic goals, I would rather station my Marines in
Baghdad than to take over the Holy Land, should its royal family misbehave (or
be eliminated.) Switch-a-roo, keep the oil.

Thiago Oppermann


On 19/8/02 1:40 AM, "Rob Schaap" <rschaap@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I'm with Michael Pollack on this one.  No realistic discernable
> strategic goal.  No reliable staging posts.  No enduring alliance.  No
> conceivable solution to the Palestine question.  No decisive good will
> in the region.  No hard evidence to defend pretext #1 (Baghdad links to
> al Qaeda), pretext #2 (capacity and intention to deploy weapons of mass
> destruction against 'west'), or the desperately shrill pretext #3
> (Saddam is worse than any other despot in the world and it's worth
> killing tens of thousands of people who aren't Saddam to depose him).
> So what support there is even at home for a unilateral first strike is
> likely a mile wide and an inch deep (even if enough support for
> November, that support would be wider than it is deep, and likely to
> damage 2004 chances).
>
> Anyway, if the attack was to be a full scale November invasion, would
> they not already have to be landing armour, logistics and troops in
> discernable quantities?
>
> Cheers,
> Rob.
>
> Michael Pollak wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 17 Aug 2002, Michael Perelman wrote:
>>
>>> I suspect that the war is directed at the Nov. elections.
>>
>> Michael, if it will cheer you up, I'll bet you there's no war before the
>> elections.  In fact I'll give you 2 to 1.  And if you'll give me 2 to 1,
>> I'll bet you they will be no war in next 365 days.
>>
>> Michael
>


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