[QUOTE=Evil One]
But what would those of you who are putting yourself on an intellectual plane I can never hope to aspire to have done in 2002? In hindsight, it would have been cheaper in blood and treasure to leave Saddam alone. Let him go on killing a few hundred people a year…let Uday snatch a few more 12 year olds off the street..in general, just maintain the status quo.
We could have gone on trusting the United Nations and the IAEA like we are in Iran…negotiate like we are in North Korea…and wait for justification before attacking again. We wouldn’t have had any problems getting the French or Russians to do the right thing…and the oil for food program was feeding the hungry so the defenseless were being taken care of.
We’ve ignored human tragedy before. Darfur being the latest example. We could have gone on ignoring Saddam. Does that sound like a good plan for everyone? I hope so. Because I’m certain that there wouldn’t have been a peep out of any of you in protest if that was the course that Bush had taken instead.
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Call me a jerk, but I didn’t care enough about the Iraqis 5 years ago to wish my country to assume the costs of replacing their government. The costs are multifaceted - money, lives (both US and others), international standing, failure to respect state sovereignty, opportunity costs both home and abroad, and many more.
As you note, Iraq was not the only nation with a horrible leader. I do not recall, however, that that was the stated reason for our invading. I thought it was something about a “gathering” threat or somesuch. Wasn’t that what you referred to regarding the mistaken intel? No one disputed that Hussein was an asshole. Many folks disputed whether he posed a realistic imminent threat to the US or anyone outside of Iraq.
Nor do I recall our country having a policy of invading all such unfortunate countries. In fact, I seem to recall express disavowals of any interest in “nation-building”, which now seems to be the primary explanation and justification for what we are doing. You mention Darfur. I imagine we could identify at least 10 countries in Africa and Asia with leadership regimes at least as oppressive as Hussein’s. But I do not recommend that our country unilaterally overthrow those governments in any but the most extreme situations - most likely involving active attempts at genocide. I’m not aware that such was going on or imminent at the time we invaded. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
As I recall it, we had some pretty extreme restrictions and sanctions in place. No, they were not entirely effective, but then and now I favored them, their costs, and their limited success over the unpredicatable success and predictably high costs associated with going to war and occupying a foreign nation.
It is interesting how your rationalizing changes over time, but the one thing that remains constant is your belief that we were right, whatever the ever shifting justifications then and now.
