What was this war about? (re: Iraq)

[kandrathe]

Actually, I think a military confrontation is more likely with North Korea, than with Iran. North Korea has proved itself to be untrustworthy, and so making deals (ala: we succumb to you blackmail and give you free fuel and food, so you don't build nukes) is worthless. But, we won't go in without buying off China big time.

Stepping into Iran now would be to undo any power base that Iranian moderates have acquired, and to prove ourselves a bigger fool than Saddam. If we stablilize Iraq, and Pakistan, and Afghanistan can remain somewhat stable, Iran is now mostly ringed by countries with huge US military presence.

Syria, why? The only reason I can think of would be to do some massive destruction to Hamas, and Islamic Jihad camps and leadership targets. Other than that, Syria is a bankrupt deperate nation that is dependant on Iraq for fuel and Turkey for water.

Germany - they never have really sided with us verbally on wars (not wanting to appear to eager), but just quietly helped to foot the bill. Their play recently was seen by most as a way to curry favor with France, and assert some European dominance. Had France gone tacitly along, or at least were not obstructing us, Germany would have never led that movement alone.

France -- will lose out big time both economically, and in the roles within NATO, and elsewhere in which the US will deal with them. They seem to now occupy that third tier of US "friends", something after "those you can count on to help", and "those you can count on not to interfere". When one of your trusted "allies" sells banned weapons directly to your enemy, well then who needs friends like that. IMHO, Chirac stuck his neck out far, and I'm afraid he might find out soon he is missing something.

EU -- the rift between the leadership of France and Britain will need some time to heal. I wonder how the British feel about the continent and being apart of the EU now. Britain has had to make many changes, and still needs to make more, and then to give up a certain amount of fiscal policy control and sovreignty to an EU dominated by France and/or Germany. I can only imagine what it would be like to abandon something so definitivly British, like their money.

Russia -- we've had worse relationships with them. Iraq was one of their buddy states, and I'm surprised they are not more irrate. US intelligence has hit the motherlode in being able to disect all the extensive Ba'ath party records going back some 40 years, detailing what the Soviets knew and shared with the Iraqi's on terrorist groups, the US, Isreal, etc. etc.