Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Exile For Saddam? Offering Saddam exile does avoid war, but it seems odd that this option hasn't been made real public till after the speech, almost like they waited to see what the reaction to the speech was going to be. And what does this do to the moral high ground? We build the guy up to be Hitler II, and then we give him exile? I think it's certainly preferable to going to war, but you have to wonder if this is just a great example of having their bluff called. Maybe the exile is a bluff, too.  Why would Saddam accept exile?  Perhaps their intention is not to have Saddam accept, only to be able to say they gave him a chance.  I guess it's worth a shot.  Saddam seems to be a man who enjoys living large.  Exile may offer him a chance to at least keep living.  Saddam doesn't seem to be the martyr type to me. What a coup (in more ways than one) for this Administration if they can simply make Saddam go away, without an attack.  Threaten him, make it seem real, and "poof": he goes away.  Can it be that easy? Or, perhaps I've misread this, and the Administration is just going to send Saddam Exile On Mainstreet as a parting gift? 2:28:03 PM    Say what?[]

The Aftermath Well, the Speech was given, and I can't really tell what I think.  First of all, let me echo Jim Haefele's sentiments in Hyperbole today, that I waver on what I think about the impending Iraq war.  I think a good case can be made that an attack on Iraq would be justified legally and perhaps morally, but would it be smart?  I seriously question whether taking a unilateral action of this magnitude, with this amount of opposition, is a smart thing to do. To dramatically oversimplify, this is what I worry about: If he HAS the weapons we accuse him of having, and we attack, would that not be provocation to use them?  If he DOESN'T have the weapons, and has already had the firesale, doesn't attacking Iraq fan the flames of anti-Americanism that helps to provoke the use of those weapons? One thing became clear to me last night, and that is that I am completely non-objective about this whole business.  There's a reason I tend to not discuss politics too much in this space, and that is that I just react on a gut level to so many things.  I have a hard time getting over Bush's smirks, or the fact that he pronounces "peninsula" like "tarantula", or mispronounces "nuclear", or used hard-ball tactics to steal the 2000 election, and so on.  I'm just not objective, and nothing is worse than reading the unobjective, under-informed political rantings of a blogger.  I swore I would never do that when I started this.  So I'm done with that...for now. 11:29:08 AM    Say what?[]

I have a new link on the left, to Base Camp, which is Scott Jorgensen's spot.  As he says, it's more base than camp.  Actually, it's just damn good writing.  But don't take my word for it; go see for yourself.  Today, he talks about the fact that he knows somebody on the Space Shuttle.  As in, on the Space Shuttle, right now, as you read this.  Beats what I'm doing... 11:17:16 AM    Say what?[]

© Copyright 2003 Doug Hennessee. Last update: 2/3/2003; 10:19:40 AM.