Kuwait Celebrates 25th Liberation Day

[CapelDodger]

My favorite is when people say that a world polls said that the US is the greatest threat to peace.

People need to get over the US - including most US Americans.

 

[Damien Evans]

Dude, uncool.

I think he was referring to the House of Saud, rather than to Saudi Arabians in general.

 

[CapelDodger]

I think he was referring to the House of Saud, rather than to Saudi Arabians in general.

Ah. Yes, that. The latter I'd refer to as Saudis, for want of a better term.

 

[Jules Galen]

Not cool at all. Saddam was getting annoying acting not-puppet-enough, State Department assured him that invading Kuwait is ok, they took the babies out of the incubators in lalaland according to a teenage daughter of royalty, he was removed from Kuwait, half a million children killed in the next decade of inhumane sanctions were worth something according to Madeleine Albright.

This is known and documented all over the world. In case this thread isn't somehow tongue-in-cheek, here's a classic of German cabaret I'm sure will be at least as educational as it will be funny to you:

C'mon....admit it: removing Saddam was the right thing to do. Now, it sucks that we also re-installed a Monarchy, but just because something isn't perfect doesn't mean it's not better (even though it may not feel satisfying....politics is brutal and ugly). Likewise, seeing Assad come back into power isn't a perfect solution....but it's better than letting a lot of Wahabbi-inspired fanatics run the asylum.

As far as the Iraq sanctions that resulted in a lot of deaths....I don't like that either. Didn't think it was neccessary.

 

[Mycroft]

I think he was referring to the House of Saud, rather than to Saudi Arabians in general.

That's the way I took it. Still uncool. It's an ugly generalization with racial overtones.

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[Jules Galen]

That's the way I took it. Still uncool. It's an ugly generalization with racial overtones.

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And...I think you are apologizing for an evil. Seriously, this line of argument is not impressive.

 

[Childlike Empress]

If they did something that crass you have no way of knowing it. You're simply relying on your belief-system here.

It may be that Saddam was given to understand that an occupation of the disputed cross-border oilfield would lead to nothing worse than protests and decided he'd catch them off-balance and grab the whole cake. It may be. We don't know the full story yet and won't for decades, if ever.

Is this an attempt at post-modernism? You can even read about it on the English-language wikipedia for crying out loud, although of course in "fair and balanced" form.

 

[Joey McGee]

"[Glaspie] took the straight American line, which is we do not take positions on border disputes between friendly countries. That's standard. That's what you always say. You would not have said, 'Mr. President, if you really are considering invading Kuwait, by God, we'll bring down the wrath of God on your palaces, and on your country, and you'll all be destroyed.' She wouldn't say that, nor would I. Neither would any diplomat."

Only a crazy conspiracy theorist could read it any other way.

 

[newyorkguy]

I don't know what we're supposed to learn in the Glaspie cite.

In March 2008 [Glaspie] gave an interview to the Lebanese newspaper Dar Al-Hayat. In the interview, she said she has no regrets. "It is over," Glaspie said. "Nobody wants to take the blame. I am quite happy to take the blame. Perhaps I was not able to make Saddam Hussein believe that we would do what we said we would do, but in all honesty, I don't think anybody in the world could have persuaded him."

Iraq invades Kuwait and the U.S. is somehow to blame. How about Saddam Hussein takes the blame? If anyone should be criticized for being unprepared, for failing to understand the threat, that someone should probably be Kuwait.

 

[Joey McGee]

The Financial Times

 

[CapelDodger]

That's the way I took it. Still uncool. It's an ugly generalization with racial overtones.

The Sauds are a big family but hardly constitute a race. If it's "desert Arabs" you're concerned about, that is the type of Arab family they are. People living on marginal land, where competition for resources is fierce and constant. To survive (let alone prosper) in such societies a capacity for thuggery is a necessity.

The Sauds are only a few generations away from that, and it shows in their behaviour.

 

[CapelDodger]

Iraq invades Kuwait and the U.S. is somehow to blame. How about Saddam Hussein takes the blame? If anyone should be criticized for being unprepared, for failing to understand the threat, that someone should probably be Kuwait.

The Kuwaitis have always understood the threat from Iraq, and the fact that it's not one they can prepare for. They need a powerful patron to defend them, which is why the British created the place, expecting to play the role of patron themselves. With the end of Empire it passed to the US. With the end of the Cold War they were left flapping in the wind.

Fault lies with the people who failed to protect Kuwait : saving them later was second-best by a very large margin. People who failed to understand history condemned us to repeat it.

What's disheartening is that it happened under an intellectual President. No wonder things got so awful under his cretinous son.

 

[CapelDodger]

Is this an attempt at post-modernism? You can even read about it on the English-language wikipedia for crying out loud, although of course in "fair and balanced" form.

I don't have a belief-system to save me from balance. My life is a nightmare of nuance. It's a wonder I ever sleep, frankly.