Post: #1

http://www.theonion.com/articles/this-wa...gio,11534/

A prophetic article from the onion's old series Point/Counterpoint:

"Point: This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism

George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more.

This war will not put an end to anti-Americanism; it will fan the flames of hatred even higher. It will not end the threat of weapons of mass destruction; it will make possible their further proliferation. And it will not lay the groundwork for the flourishing of democracy throughout the Mideast; it will harden the resolve of Arab states to drive out all Western (i.e. U.S.) influence.

If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. Do you think they will forget what country dropped the bombs that killed their parents? In 10 or 15 years, we will look back fondly on the days when there were only a few thousand Middle Easterners dedicated to destroying the U.S. and willing to die for the fundamentalist cause. From this war, a million bin Ladens will bloom.

Counterpoint: No It Won't

No it won't.

It just won't. None of that will happen.

You're getting worked up over nothing. Everything is going to be fine. So just relax, okay? You're really overreacting.

"This war will not put an end to anti-Americanism; it will fan the flames of hatred even higher"?

It won't.

"It will harden the resolve of Arab states to drive out all Western (i.e. U.S.) influence"?

Not really.

"A war against Iraq is not only morally wrong, it will be an unmitigated disaster"?

Sorry, no, I disagree."

Hilarious...

Post: #2

While I didn't have the geographical and political understanding to expand on it much, I remember having the distinct feeling in grade 10 that this new war in Iraq was a really bad idea.

Maybe the elites knew this too, but derived enough benefit (or thought they would) and decided to go ahead with it anyway.

Post: #3

Yeah, while I felt that Afghanistan was justified (though poorly executed with the installation of Hamid Karzai, resulting in the current quagmire there), the Iraq war always seemed like a tremendously stupid idea. There is just no benefit overall. Conspiracy theorists talk of oil, but U.S. is actually getting less oil from that region now than it was before.

This is not to mention the universal condemnation from other nations that branded U.S. with the "reckless cowboy" image that it still wears to this day. If it weren't for Iraq, the minor interventions like Libya would have been received much better by the international community.