12-15-2003, 03:29 PM
There is no question that the email "shopping list" that Pete finds so worthless is indeed not "pure truth." What I was asking was: seeing things presented this way, does it change the picture in your head?
Two points:
One: at present it is "life in transition" as in a great deal is changing.
Two: Some things are better, and some are worse, just like with any change, and it depends on who you are in Iraq. Again, Iraq is not a homogenous place. With this latest change, some folks are hating life, I imagine quite a few of the Sunni, and some folks are getting a bit of a better shake, like some Kurds, but to say "everything is globally better" strikes me as an overstatement. To say that at present, there are prospects for a more open society would be accurate, but there is also opportunity for more strong men to take over and create another autocracy. The Third World is replete with examples of
"Meet the New Boss, Same as The Old Boss!"
Varying examples include South Viet Nam after Diem went down, and Panama after Noriega was taken down by the US.
Quote:If the information contained in the e-mail is true, all the better for Iraqis, but the implied claim that life in Iraq is better than it has ever been under Ba'ath rule is bogus
Two points:
One: at present it is "life in transition" as in a great deal is changing.
Two: Some things are better, and some are worse, just like with any change, and it depends on who you are in Iraq. Again, Iraq is not a homogenous place. With this latest change, some folks are hating life, I imagine quite a few of the Sunni, and some folks are getting a bit of a better shake, like some Kurds, but to say "everything is globally better" strikes me as an overstatement. To say that at present, there are prospects for a more open society would be accurate, but there is also opportunity for more strong men to take over and create another autocracy. The Third World is replete with examples of
"Meet the New Boss, Same as The Old Boss!"
Varying examples include South Viet Nam after Diem went down, and Panama after Noriega was taken down by the US.
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete