>From a Canadian perspective...
You guys seem to be missing the point that Saddam et al is a very useful
thing in the middle east. He is the natural ally of the West being a secular
leader who has a reasonable cult of personality going on. We like working
with strong men who stay in power. It's irritating to bribe a bunch of
people only to have them lose a coup and then have the new guys ask for
presents all over again (personal experience). The Saudis want him in power
because he is Sunni not Shiite. The other oil states want him there because
it keeps the Iraqi oil off the market and helps them shore up already
historically low crude prices. The West wants him there because he is the
only man who can govern strongly enough to deny the Russians what they have
wanted for 800 years; a port on the Mediterranean. The Russians want him
there because they can strike a deal with the guy more easily than the
religious hardliners who now form much of the governements in the old
republics on the south-east of what was the Soviet Union. There are many
entrenched interests making certain that there is no chance of ever actually
toppling the guy. As for what Saddam wants, probably a vacation. If he were
to go, the entire middle-east could go up in flames during the dynastic
struggle. The proximity to the gulf and the Russian border veto any direct
intervention in such a battle by either side, (re: Afganistan) resulting in
a winn by the religious hardliners backed by Iran. Not fun!!
Saddam's reprehensible actions vis. the Kurds (very special case involving
Russia, Turkey, Iran and Irag), Kuwait and the rest simply indicate that we
don't have a perfect understanding of the complex dynamics of the situation.
The politicians are playing for big stakes here. Don't forget whenever
Russia is near, you play the long game and the order and timing of events is
important. In this situation the strangely named operation "Desert Fox" is
so named as a form of compliment to Saddam thus giving him face while
demonstrating the firepower of the West. This ensures that he will not
retaliate in order to save personal face. As to whether it will work, only
time will tell.
Pity the poor innocents who get trapped in the middle in this game...
Now back to TRs (while donning my flame-proof coat)
Mark Hooper
mhooper@pixelsystems.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory Petrolati <gpetrola@prairienet.org>
To: Don Spence <spence@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>
Cc: triumph list <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Date: December 17, 1998 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: Desert Fox
>
>On Thu, 17 Dec 1998, Don Spence wrote:
>
>>
>> Dare I say "Wag the Dog"?
>>
>> Prepare yourself for another round of government controlled media
>> manipulation.
>
> So... You prefer the normal CORPORATE controlled media
> maniplulation?
>
>
>
>gpetrola@prairienet.org 1962 TR4 (CT4852L)
> "That's not a leak... My car is just marking its territory!"
>Greg Petrolati, Champaign, Illinois
>
>
>
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