Originally Posted by
-:Undertaker:-
The United Nations the USA stresses and uses so often, yet when the United States wishes to do something it just ignores the UN ruling, i'm sorry but that just is hypocrisy at its worst. The United States cannot maintain its moral high ground constantly verbally attacking North Korea and Iran for breaking UN sanctions/resolutions when it supports Israel and just ignores resolutions that apply to itself when it sees fit. I support the United States so much and believe the United Kingdom should be very close to the United States, but in the future when the Peoples Republic of China is stronger the United States needs to be able to say they have kept democracy and being fair at the foremost of their foreign policy, and at the moment that hasn't been the case.
The point is though, Shia are often conservative muslims which are the worst type in the middle east, that would of ment a much harsher regime in place like the Iranian revolution in place in Baghdad rather than the quite liberal (in middle eastern terms) Ba'ath Party in Baghdad. As I said he was no angel, and I wish the best for the middle east, but Saddam did a lot for Iraq, was quite liberal and for the most part, kept away the brain drain which Iran is experiencing thanks to the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The United States and United Kingdom were quite friendly to the regime of Saddam as he was rational, eager to co-operate and was a buffer to dangerous arab conservativism.
According to what I read, he attempted to keep it as liberal as possible given the middle eastern views on homosexuality, until the Iraqi government voted/decided in the early 2000's to make it illegal, to the dismay of Saddams arab socialism. You can see it in women aswell, in Iran police drive around telling women to buy arab clothes, whereas in Iraq under Saddam westernism was encouraged, often by himself when he wore western suits and western clothes.
It seems to me like another one of your stupid attempts to try and get one over on me in an argument, in which you do, and always will, fail. I have studied Iraq and read as much as I can on the subject, as at times in the past I had supported the invasion and I had flipped many times on the subject when younger, however now I have come to a reasonable conclusion on the topic of the Ba'ath regime. I am keen in history and politics, and therefore I use a wide range of examples and evidence to support my claims, such as the United Kingdom in the 1970's compared to the 1980's and of course, the Ba'ath regime and neighbouring countries.
You mean like in World War II when British soldiers who refused to fight were shot? - i'm afraid when you have Iran at your doorstep and your fearing an invasion by a hardcore islamic republic, you do everything to keep displine and order in your military and government. As I have said before, do you think if governments (especially in the middle east) gave their soldiers the option not to fight would get anywhere? - no they wouldn't last a minute.
He wasn't nice at all, as for the Police you only have to look at countries like Zimbabwe and Pakistan in which governments are torn apart/have to give the police special priveldges if they are too powerful, this can be seen in the cases of Robert Mugabe and Pervez Musharraf. To be strong and to stay together without being invaded/having a coup in the middle east, you have to be harsh and cruel.
What would Saddam of set off his magical non-existent WMD if we hadn't invaded?, and in that case why didn't he set them off when his regime was falling in Baghdad. You are living in fairytale land.
The country is now a haven for terrorists, its even been admitted by the governments of Washington and London. Before the invasion there was no terrorist activities in Iraq because Saddam simply wouldn't allow any organisations (such as arab conservative terrorist groups) like Al Queda to flourish in Iraq as they were a threat to his regime.
In that case then, if you think overall NATO has done a good job in Iraq then i'm sure your up for invading the Peoples Republic of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe and countless other states around the world so we can do a 'good job' there, but we know we won't because them countries have the capability to fight back whereas with Saddam we knew he didn't.
Iraq was on its knees because of the sanctions George H Bush put on the country, and considering all of that Saddam still managed to hold the country together and prevent it from plumetting into Civil War.
Invest in a country which is full to the rim with terrorism? - the only investment thats going on in Iraq is the oil fields being given contracts to members of the Bush Administration who happen to have close links with oil companies, George W & H Bush themselves (watch Farenheit 9/11 for a interesting insight). The workers/engineers are also mostly foreign and are driven to work in convoys guarded by the US military - you call this investment?, then again you say Margaret Thatcher ruined this country so you obviously have no understanding of the word.
What would Saddam of killed us all with his 45 minute magic bombs that happen to not exist?
Get real.