Re: mystery solved

Jim,

Without considerable US funding and support at the beginning of his regime,
most Arab experts believe it is doubtful that Hussein, given his disastrous
and reckless policies at home and abroad, could have held onto power very
long. And even the CIA admits that there was a likelihood in the early
eighties of Hussein being seriously threatened by the fundamentalist Muslim
majority in his country when he began the war with Iran. If we had not
funded and supported him during that war, Hussein's secular government very
likely would have lost its grip on Iraqi politics. That, in fact, is why the
CIA recommended the funding in the first place, since we did not want a
fundamentalist Islamic state (in Iran) controlling the balance of power in
the region. (Now, of course, it looks like we may be in danger of having
created another one -- already the Christians in Iraq are fleeing for their
own safety as the Shiites and Sunis begin to exercise the power of their
numbers.)

As to how you undermine tyrannical and murderous dictators... First, you stop
funding them, helping them, supporting them, selling them weapons, and even
placing them in power (can you say South America?). Second, when it is in
the clear national interest of the United States, history has shown that the
most effective challenge to tyrannical rule comes from the careful
introduction of internal economic, political and even cooperative insurgent
pressure -- because when change is brought about that way, as terrible and
murderous as it often is, there is already a program for the installation of
some sort of reliable new power in place. As ugly as it was when it was
happening, the death of Apartheid proved to be more historically permanent
and significant that our little adventures in Afghanistan (which is already
falling back into the hands of the murderous tribal warlords) or Iraq (where
life for the locals will be little or no different ten years from now than it
was ten years ago and where the weapons of mass destruction will be on sale
on the black market faster than you can say "profit margin," if they're not
already).

But perhaps this asking to much historical patience and critical thinking for
a President who doesn't believe in evolution anyway.

All the best,

--John

-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
Received on Mon Apr 21 17:00:38 2003