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Frankfurter
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|  #1 Posted on 20.3.13 1628.39
Reposted on: 20.3.20 1629.01 | The Iraq war began 10 years ago today. I don't post here much anymore, but I did 10 years ago and thankfully all those posts are preserved. I look back on my own thinking then and I can't believe how I swallowed the reasoning for the war and the initial spin. It's pretty shocking how as a country we were all misled in such a blatant way, and cowed into thinking this war HAD to be fought. I remember some of the more conservative posters here (Pool Boy, Grimis, some others) tried to bully everyone who even dared to question "Why are we doing this?". It was kind of a microcosm of what was going on in the media and the country as a whole. Check this thread out as an example: http://the-w.com/told-you-so
But now in retrospect, we were right. They were wrong. The war was a waste. There were no WMDs. The Bush Administration pretty much knew that. The Occupation was a debacle. They covered that up as long as they could. The war wasn't paid for by the Iraqi oil. We weren't greeted as liberators. The antiwar protesters were ridiculed and called un-american. I could go on.
In the end, no one responsible for leading us into ruin paid any real price. I think that bugs me most of all.
Zeruel edit -- You were missing a ">" in your sig that broke the tables, I edited your sig to prevent future issues.
(edited by Zeruel on 21.3.13 1417) | Promote this thread! |             | lotjx
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| #2 Posted on 20.3.13 1736.06
Reposted on: 20.3.20 1744.01 | It was probably one of the greatest if not greatest foreign policy disasters of all time. We lost all of the goodwill from being attacked on 9/11 and made a region that was not stable to begin with, worse. We also lost most if not all the oil contracts to China if I remember correctly. We also wasted all of our extra cash from the 90s on the war and was one of the factors that plunged us into a debt that will never be paid off as well as our current economic situation. All of that pales in comparison to the lives lost on both sides.
Granted, we did get Saddam and made Iraqi into a more friendly country for us. It also didn't hurt Bush and Company politically since they won re-election. Katrina was really the tipping point that America had it with them and McCain paid the price. So, the question becomes was it worth it? I say No. Saddam was fairly self contained with enemies on all sides. I doubt he would ever got WMDs and if he did Iran would have more than happy to take care of him. It just never made sense to me then and even now, but patriotism + war fever = bad decisions is the story of stupid things humanity does to one another.
(edited by lotjx on 20.3.13 1738) | hansen9j
Andouille
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|  #3 Posted on 20.3.13 2133.43
Reposted on: 20.3.20 2135.08 | | I will never stop being amazed that Canada did not get sucked into Iraq. We've historically went along with everything American (including Afghanistan and the first Iraq war), I don't know how this was any different. | Llakor
Landjager
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| #4 Posted on 21.3.13 1233.57
Reposted on: 21.3.20 1243.33 | Originally posted by hansen9j
I will never stop being amazed that Canada did not get sucked into Iraq. We've historically went along with everything American (including Afghanistan and the first Iraq war), I don't know how this was any different.
Jean Chretien.
With an assist to Bill Graham who was Foreign Minister at the time.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-reporter-his-foreign-minister-father-and-the-war-that-consumed-them/article9844171/
Chretien & Graham did a really good job of wriggling out of the war, by rounding up a coalition of third world countries friendly to Canada and on the fence about the war, to try and pass a UN resolution to create a series of steps and deadlines that Saddam would have to follow to avoid the war.
Both knew that there was no way that any such resolution would get past the UN security council. If I remember correctly, the only debate was which member of the Security Council would veto it first.
But in the process, Chretien and Graham had created a scenario under which Canada was comfortable going to war... and a scenario that they knew would never happen.
AND this also gave Canada cover to not get tarred and feathered the way that the French were. Helped that we did agree to send "trainers" and that the Canadian Army ended up to its armpits in some of the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan. | Reverend J Shaft
Toulouse
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| #5 Posted on 21.3.13 1715.53
Reposted on: 21.3.20 1718.47 | Originally posted by rockdotcom_2.0
I remember some of the more conservative posters here (Pool Boy, Grimis, some others) tried to bully everyone who even dared to question...
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