msouth's Journal: Iraq, the UN, legitimacy, and being pro-war, pro-Palestine

Well, I figure I should say this somewhere.

I understand concerns about the US deciding that they don't like a regime and invading that country. I realize that, in this case, the argument is that we are going in over WMD, not just a dislike for Hussein. But I find Hussein/regime a much more compelling reason to invade.

I was worried that Saddam would actually disarm and that we would then not have any excuse to go in and get rid of him. There needs to be some way to take the guy out. Sanctions against a dictatorship don't hurt the dictator--they only add punishment to the punished. I'm sure that Hussein isn't lacking anything as a result of the sanctions, but his people have suffered tremendously. And they are not free to change the regime. What do you do? Keep the sanctions in place, keep punishing the people who are held in check by brutality and terror?

I don't know--it's like trying to untangle a Slinky. Every time you try something you can't tell if you're making the problem worse or not. I just can't help thinking of those people rising up against Saddam during the first Gulf War, and the world just standing by and letting them get slaughtered because it wasn't part of the UN objectives to free the oppressed people.

Bear in mind that I'm also very critical of America's pathetic failure to support the Palestinians--I'm not "party line" for any party that I know of.

Hopefully Blair will be able to help Powell talk Bush into a reasonable approach to the Palestinian question. If we can get that, plus democracy in Iraq out of this, the loss of life will be worth it. In the end we will save more lives that would otherwise be lost.