craigsub said:
Iraq is many times safer today than it was in 2001. For example, today, a know nothing like you could stand on a street corner and call the new government monster, and live to tell about it. Five years ago, you would have disappeared. And died a slow death, with no press to report it.
Certainly you'd be unlikely to be attacked by the government directly, but that's because it's a shambles. Iraqis themselves are increasingly unhappy with the current state of the country (lack of water, electricity, security).
However, as predicted by many experts (before the start of US action), Iraq appears to be sliding down a dark path. Some info to start with:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4894148.stm
craigsub said:
This member of you House of Lords I just mentioned got to visit a rape room. The soldiers BRAGGED about how many women each had raped...
Without question the Saddam regime was brutal, but that still doesn't hide the fact that our governments turned a blind eye for decades, and that some sections of our own troops now appear to be behaving in a similar manner:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_prisoner_abuse
Oh, and whilst turning a blind eye, they were also selling him chemicals:
http://www.counterpunch.org/boles1010.html
craigsub said:
Iraq has a lot of challenges ahead of it, but, for the vast majority of the good people in Iraq who are working to make their country into a working democracy, I am thankful that YOU are not the type of person they follow.
You may not like to hear this, but "men" like you would rather have 50,000 rapes/murders per year and not know about it, than have a struggling democracy with all its warts publicized. Congratulations, you are a perfect poster child for the saying "Ignorance is Bliss".
This kind of language says so much. You make numerous assumptions without any knowledge of who I am, what I stand for, or my allegiances.
Given that I have previously posted a little information on Iraq's history, using a term like "Ignorance" does look a little misguided.
What you have largely done is regurgitate the US government propaganda I see so often, and used their tactic of engaging in a personal attack when faced with differing information (instead of entering into a reasoned argument based on factual data). Basically, it's the indoctrination into Americans that any disagreement isn't a counter argument, it's a sign that the person isn't a patriot/is anti-American, and therefore anything they say must be wrong. A superb, and unfortunately very effective, deception.
What saddens me is the fact that this runs so deep in US society - where day after day you are given the messages of a government that stands for "truth, freedom and justice", whilst frequently engaging in anything but.
I've lost count of the number of Americans I've met around the world, who are surprised and upset that they sometimes get a cold response. Whilst they are told at home that their government are the 'good guys', and should therefore been seen in a good light, the reality on the ground is so often different.
Sometimes, this doesn't even come from a deliberately aggressive act - I've seen US representatives (in this case soldiers) doing something deeply offensive in the Middle East, without even intending to be rude. This all stems from having been given a view of the world (from news at home) that's so narrow, and frequently misleading, that it's almost inevitable.
I appreciate I'm not going to change your view, and you'll most likely resort to name calling again, but you have the use of the Internet - do some searching for information, expand your mind beyond Fox news and you might be surprised (and somewhat disgusted at what you're not being told).
As a "starter for ten", take a look at where your tax dollars are now going (hint: the pockets of the government's friends, rebuilding the very country they've just flattened). Here's one to get you going:
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0403-10.htm