Originally posted by kenhor:
As to your earlier statement of asking Saddam to say why Iraq SHOULD NOT be bombed, it smacks of the authoritarianism that is so prevalent in Singapore.
People are INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. Not the other way around. Its the job of the prosecuter to make a case and show the proof. Its not the job of the defendant to prove his innocence.
What USA is doing is WRONG .. it has to show proof. My guess is that it has proof but can not show it as it will compromise its source. But in any investigation, that is cause of reasonable doubt.
If it wants to invade Iraq, go ahead. But if it wants everyone to join in, it must show proof.
Look at the UNSC resolutions that call for a full and open inspections regine in Iraq. Look at how they have repeatedly, systematically and blatantly flouted by the Iraqi regime, which, even as the UN Inspectors were carrying out their job in Iraq until they were driven out by the regime in 1998, continued to work on, and tried to hide from the inspectors, the WMD program.
For people like that idiot Scott Ritter who consistently maintain that the Iraqi WMD program has stopped, look the the regimes track record. It continued to research, produce and attempt to hide a massive WMD program EVEN AS THE INSPECTORS WERE STILL AROUND IN IRAQ. What makes these people think Iraq has stopped the WMD work now that there are no inspectors for 4 years already?
People should be innocent until proven guilty?: I agree with you 100% on that. Problem is, this Iraqi regime has already BEEN proven guilty. And it has consistently refused to accept its punishment, which was what the UN mission to uncover and destroy Iraqs WMD program was. By driving out the inspectors in 1998 before the destruction of the WMD was complete, it means that the guilty has not been punished yet.
I know where you're going to go next with this. You are going to condemn the sanctions and embargo on Iraq which liberal do-gooders the world over are claiming is killing the innocent women and children in Iraq. I ask you to do proper research first and find out how many BILLIONS of dollars Iraq has with the UN to buy food and medicine for its women and children under the Oil-for-Food program. The money is there, in UN hands for Iraq to buy food and medicine with, yet Saddam and his sidekicks prefer to let their women and children die for lack of food and medicine claiming that the embargo is stopping food and medicine from reaching his people.
Yet, the money is there, the programs are there to prevent that. and there is only one person whos causing the deaths, Its the Iraqi government itself.
To show the world why Iraq SHOULD not be bombed. Simple. Comply with ALL UN resolutions on inspections on Iraq's WMD program. That will be enough.
I find your posts, along with all those in the media etc who condemn the US over its stance on Iraq, very interesting. I see a lot of condemning the US over its actions, but never once hear people like you comment on Iraq's refusal to comply with UN(not US) resolutions, nor comment on how Iraq has money to buy food and medicine yet claim the sanctions are killing Iraqi women and children. Maybe you would like to buck the trend and comment on these issues?
To conclude, yes the US is wrong, but Iraq is no saint either. It has the ability to ward off a needless war yet it subbornly refuses to do so.