Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00652)

--- In theos-talk@y..., Bart Lidofsky <bartl@s...> wrote:
> The popular votes were counted. Bush won.

Bush did not win the popular vote but the eldctoral cote, and he only 
won that because 65,000 blacks in Florida were selectively 
disenfranchised. Regardless of who was right or wrong or how you 
feel about Bush personally, the process was not an edifying one.

> There are accusations, but not evidence that the U.S. sold the bio
> agents to Iraq. 

The accusations have been made by US government agencies.

> A good chunk of the world's oil supply is in the hands of a
> man who claims to hate the United States

If you are talking about Saddam, it is a safe bet that he is not 
Jesus Christ and therefore does not love mortal enemies. It is also 
a safe bet that he does not believe in such a practice, and that is 
the main reason he is still alive.

> Is it wrong for the United States to protect itself against
> blackmail? 

The existence of foreign countries means (1) there are people in the 
world who automatically hate you as a matter pf perceived patriotic 
duty, and (2) schemes are being funded for undermining your welfare. 
That is indeed a problem and has been since the beginning of the 
nation state or even the city state. That is most regrettable. Far 
be it from me to deny or minimize the problem. Nonetheless, I am not 
comfortable with a policy of perpetual warfare, especially when 
personal self enrichment and not national interest is very likely the 
underlying motive. They are already preparing us for another war in 
Iran if the war in Iraq goes well, and then it appears South America 
will be next. Only oil producing regions are on the hit list. Where 
will it end?

You are probably old enough to remember that the Soviet Union was far 
more powerful than any of these new enemies and was dealt with very 
effectively with a century long shadow war fought by secret agents 
and special forces. When we turned the soldiers loose, as in Korea 
and Vietnam, an otherwise well functioning war went awry.

Anyway, we will surely see how this new policy works.