HankMorgan
19th March 2003, 07:10
There doesn't seem to be a thread to fit this in
so I'll create a new one. Whether or not Hussein
should be forcably removed doesn't seem like that
interesting a topic anymore. I thought I'd write
about post war Iraq. Maybe talking about what should
happen to post war Iraq will be interesting.
I think there is an opportunity here and perhaps
President Bush and Tony Blair see it too. This is
what I see and what I would do.
The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001
was the work of a terrorist group and not a nation.
Had it been the work of another nation, that nation
would be rubble by now. Fighting another country is
easy but how do you fight an enemy that can't be seen.
Answer, by changing the world.
The United States military isn't powerful enough to fight
the whole world despite what the likes of che-lives (long
may it live) posters like M1 would like to believe. That's
not an option.
Appeasement isn't an option either. There isn't enough
the US can do to appease people like Bin Laden. Even if
the United States suddenly turned on its ally, Israel,
and destroyed it, that still wouldn't be enough satisfaction.
The United States would remain a target.
The world cannot be changed overnight. It takes a long time.
I don't think the United States should do a quick job in Iraq.
It shouldn't be get Hussein and go home for Christmas.
Probably nobody on either side of the political spectrum
wants to hear it but I think the US should expect to keep
a minimum of 100,000 troops in Iraq for the indefinite future.
By indefinite future, I mean 60, 80, 100 years. The
troops in Germany have been in that country for more than
50 years and Iraq needs the same commitment. I would like
to see all the troops in Germany and Japan moved to Iraq.
I would like to see the same kind of effort put into
building Iraq that was put into building Germany and Japan
after World War II. I think the US needs to follow the
models of post war Germany and Japan.
I don't want to see another dictator installed in Iraq.
At first there should be an elected Iraqi leader but the
power should be in the hands of an American, an Iraqi
MacArthur if you will. An elected representative
government should be created and elections held at regular
intervals. As the tradition and understanding of freedom
seeps into the bones of the Iraqi people, the power should
be allowed to spread out into the people where it belongs.
This may take a very long time, perhaps two or three
generations.
The whole country of Iraq should be rebuilt. Roads,
powerlines, sewer systems, schools and hospitals should
be built in every corner of Iraq. Every Iraqi person
should see real improvements in the quality of life.
Again, let's follow the models of post war Germany and
Japan.
I started this post by writing of an opportunity. The
Marshall plan for post war Europe cost more than a
hundred billion dollars in today's dollars. Where will
the billions come from to build post Hussein Iraq? It
will be pumped by the barrel full from under the sand.
The US Army isn't wanted or needed in Germany or Japan
so let's move those forces to Iraq. The opportunity
I wrote of is the possibility of building a free and
funtioning democracy in the heart of the Islamic world
for little or no cost to the West.
All people anywhere need is a voice and the belief that
their life is getting better. Iraq must be the model
for the Islamic world.
Freedom will spread on its own but sometimes it needs a
little help getting rooted. All it takes is a long view
and commitment.
so I'll create a new one. Whether or not Hussein
should be forcably removed doesn't seem like that
interesting a topic anymore. I thought I'd write
about post war Iraq. Maybe talking about what should
happen to post war Iraq will be interesting.
I think there is an opportunity here and perhaps
President Bush and Tony Blair see it too. This is
what I see and what I would do.
The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001
was the work of a terrorist group and not a nation.
Had it been the work of another nation, that nation
would be rubble by now. Fighting another country is
easy but how do you fight an enemy that can't be seen.
Answer, by changing the world.
The United States military isn't powerful enough to fight
the whole world despite what the likes of che-lives (long
may it live) posters like M1 would like to believe. That's
not an option.
Appeasement isn't an option either. There isn't enough
the US can do to appease people like Bin Laden. Even if
the United States suddenly turned on its ally, Israel,
and destroyed it, that still wouldn't be enough satisfaction.
The United States would remain a target.
The world cannot be changed overnight. It takes a long time.
I don't think the United States should do a quick job in Iraq.
It shouldn't be get Hussein and go home for Christmas.
Probably nobody on either side of the political spectrum
wants to hear it but I think the US should expect to keep
a minimum of 100,000 troops in Iraq for the indefinite future.
By indefinite future, I mean 60, 80, 100 years. The
troops in Germany have been in that country for more than
50 years and Iraq needs the same commitment. I would like
to see all the troops in Germany and Japan moved to Iraq.
I would like to see the same kind of effort put into
building Iraq that was put into building Germany and Japan
after World War II. I think the US needs to follow the
models of post war Germany and Japan.
I don't want to see another dictator installed in Iraq.
At first there should be an elected Iraqi leader but the
power should be in the hands of an American, an Iraqi
MacArthur if you will. An elected representative
government should be created and elections held at regular
intervals. As the tradition and understanding of freedom
seeps into the bones of the Iraqi people, the power should
be allowed to spread out into the people where it belongs.
This may take a very long time, perhaps two or three
generations.
The whole country of Iraq should be rebuilt. Roads,
powerlines, sewer systems, schools and hospitals should
be built in every corner of Iraq. Every Iraqi person
should see real improvements in the quality of life.
Again, let's follow the models of post war Germany and
Japan.
I started this post by writing of an opportunity. The
Marshall plan for post war Europe cost more than a
hundred billion dollars in today's dollars. Where will
the billions come from to build post Hussein Iraq? It
will be pumped by the barrel full from under the sand.
The US Army isn't wanted or needed in Germany or Japan
so let's move those forces to Iraq. The opportunity
I wrote of is the possibility of building a free and
funtioning democracy in the heart of the Islamic world
for little or no cost to the West.
All people anywhere need is a voice and the belief that
their life is getting better. Iraq must be the model
for the Islamic world.
Freedom will spread on its own but sometimes it needs a
little help getting rooted. All it takes is a long view
and commitment.