# Which Asian country will Iraq wind up resembling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 20, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395 "2003-11-20T23:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/41 "2003-11-24T20:41:50Z")
> [@](#): > > If the US suffered a fascist takeover Must…resist…temptation 😃 😃 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/42 "2003-11-24T20:46:53Z")
> [@](#): > > If the US suffered a fascist takeover, and Canada and Britain invaded and toppled him, Americans would not resist, we’d be grateful. And if there were some McVeigh-type diehards committing terrorist acts, killing occupation troops, we’d be turning them in, not cheering them on. Seriously, this may be your opinion, but you have no evidence for this and no way of knowing whether it is true. It is also in no way analogous to the Iraq situation. > [@](#): > > If France or Germany suffered a coup and a fascist dictator took over, you could measure the US response in hours Do you think the Iraqi people have a case for wondering what took you so long to get to them, then? ---
**Author:** ![Chicago\_Faucet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chicago_faucet/32/13910_2.png) [@Chicago\_Faucet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicago_Faucet)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/43 "2003-11-24T21:16:23Z")
I say Taiwan or Singapore. Iraq will become a quiet industrial giant, shipping gobs of goods out through the Persian Sea. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/44 "2003-11-24T21:18:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*I think you read the article incorrectly. It says: > > (Bolding mine.) The 45,000 refers to the number of American troops in Japan. There have been only a few cases of the Japanese SDF (Self Defence Force) being deployed overseas, and it’s always been a controvarisial action since it’s not clear whether this is constitutional. \*\* I tried to answer a couple of nights ago, but apparently it never went through. Thank you for correcting me, **scr4**. In that case, given your location, perhaps you can offer knowledgable perspective: My sense has been that the US military presence is absolutely essential in keeping democracy alive in South Korea, that it plays a key role in thwarting a real and immediate danger to that country’s freely elected government, which would fall to hostile forces almost instantly after our complete departure. (This is the position I fear we will end up in with Iraq). Does it play an identical role in Japan, IYO? ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/45 "2003-11-24T21:36:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\* > That’s called failure of will. Many of us have already given up. I shudder to think how this generation would have behaved during WWII. The US war effort would have been hamstrung in ways that might have ensured our defeat. Or we would have stopped at the German border, having restored the status quo. And after all, regime change in Germany would be so destabilizing, and we can’t have that. \*\* Our willingness in WWII came from an unusual lack of moral ambiguity in the situation. I won’t say our hands were squeaky clean, but they were relatively unsoiled. We did not actively place Hitler in power or officially support him materially once he was in control. We understood the political relationships between nations in the region. Corporations of the time probably had more to lose by taking him out than leaving him in. All possible diplomatic avenues had been exhausted with him, and we had been directly attacked by his ally, Japan. We went in with as strong a force as we could muster, under knowledgeable and capable leadership that did not let desire for re-election get in the way of desire for decisive victory. Our path then was about as clearly laid out as it could be. Just when since 1945 have we had those elements lined up again? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395/46 "2003-11-24T21:51:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\* > If the US suffered a fascist takeover, and Canada and Britain invaded and toppled him, Americans would not resist, we’d be grateful. And if there were some McVeigh-type diehards committing terrorist acts, killing occupation troops, we’d be turning them in, not cheering them on. > \*\* Definitely a matter of perception. If we thought that the Brits and Canucks were goona take our stuff and do many other things under the banner of liberation as many Iraqis think of the US-led invasion… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\* > I think there is definitely a standard that is almost racist in nature as to how we react to dictatorship. > \*\* Yes, it’s evidenced in this snippet: \* If the US suffered a fascist takeover, and Canada and Britain invaded and toppled him, Americans would not resist, we’d be grateful. And if there were some McVeigh-type diehards committing terrorist acts, killing occupation troops, we’d be turning them in, not cheering them on.\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\* > If France or Germany suffered a coup and a fascist dictator took over, you could measure the US response in hours, and we’d have the full backing of just about everyone in Europe to restore democracy. But the little brown people don’t deserve such consideration I guess. > \*\* It all depends on the assessment of our actions and motives. We didn’t make the restoration of democracy in Iraq our main justification for the invasion now did we? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-asian-country-will-iraq-wind-up-resembling/214395.md?page=2)