US Military Action in Iraq - Poll

[Jason]

Kuwait

Could you be a little more specific?

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait.

True enough, but then we'd have to start with Saddam's rise to power before that and get seriously derailed. :S

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

[HomerJay]

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait.

True enough, but then we'd have to start with Saddam's rise to power before that and get seriously derailed. :S

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

Someone else would have invaded Kuwait? I guess it's possible, Belgium, perhaps?

It was Arab weakness over Kuwait that led to US involvement in Kuwait, which led to Afghanistan and again to Iraq.

[Jason]

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait.

True enough, but then we'd have to start with Saddam's rise to power before that and get seriously derailed. :S

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

Someone else would have invaded Kuwait? I guess it's possible, Belgium, perhaps?

It was Arab weakness over Kuwait that led to US involvement in Kuwait, which led to Afghanistan and again to Iraq.

"L'Etat c'est moi" is so dated.

I meant another leader would have been put in place instead of Saddam.

[HomerJay]

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait...

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

Someone else would have invaded Kuwait? I guess it's possible, Belgium, perhaps?

It was Arab weakness over Kuwait that led to US involvement in Kuwait, which led to Afghanistan and again to Iraq.

I meant another leader would have been put in place instead of Saddam.

An Arab? A Persian? A Sunni? A Shia?

Is Kuwait still invaded? Do the Arabs remain immobile?

[Jason]

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait...

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

Someone else would have invaded Kuwait? I guess it's possible, Belgium, perhaps?

It was Arab weakness over Kuwait that led to US involvement in Kuwait, which led to Afghanistan and again to Iraq.

I meant another leader would have been put in place instead of Saddam.

An Arab? A Persian? A Sunni? A Shia?

Is Kuwait still invaded? Do the Arabs remain immobile?

You're missing my point.

Meh, fuck it. Go ahead and say it was Saddam.

[HomerJay]

You can't discuss the legitimacy of US action in Afghanistan unless you start with Kuwait...

No, there's a straight line between Kuwait and Afghanistan, which doesn't need any priors.

Nonsense. If it wasn't Saddam it would have been someone else. Who put Saddam in power? That is what you would have to address to start from Kuwait.

Someone else would have invaded Kuwait? I guess it's possible, Belgium, perhaps?

It was Arab weakness over Kuwait that led to US involvement in Kuwait, which led to Afghanistan and again to Iraq.

You're missing my point.

Just because it's not very interesting, the original Syria Ba'ath Party was regionalist and the Iraqi off-shoot nationalist, no one interferred with that process, it was homespun. Both were Arab Nationalist.

The problem with the OP is that is doesn't offer anything to a Post Post Colonial analysis, it's easy with hindsight to condemn the clusterfuck that Iraq has become to US folly but IMO the US made bad decisions in the face of Arab inertia over Kuwait.

[Jason]

No, you don't get my point. But I don't care.

You'd have to be a spook or wear a tinfoil hat to understand. If Ian was here he might have some insights.

[HomerJay]

You could make it sound interesting but atm, it isn't very.

[Jason]

I just don't care to get into it with you over this - it'd just be drama.

I'm about no drama these days. Nothing personal.

[HomerJay]

[Warren Dew]

Except, at the time they told us it was because of WMDs... though they wouldn't let the weapons inspectors finish their job of actually looking for them.

"They'"? The former Iraqi government? They're the ones who threw the weapons inspectors out; were they also the ones who said "it was because of WMDs"?

[Jason]

[Gawd]

Except, at the time they told us it was because of WMDs... though they wouldn't let the weapons inspectors finish their job of actually looking for them.

"They'"? The former Iraqi government? They're the ones who threw the weapons inspectors out; were they also the ones who said "it was because of WMDs"?

"Weapons inspectors" can be thrown out at anytime for any reason, why just look at Israel.

[Warren Dew]

"Weapons inspectors" can be thrown out at anytime for any reason, why just look at Israel.

Israel let weapons inspectors in?

[Gawd]

"Weapons inspectors" can be thrown out at anytime for any reason, why just look at Israel.

Israel let weapons inspectors in?

It does, the American ones selling it the weapons.