Setanta wrote:Afghanistan made sense, because our national security was very obviously threatened by al Qaeda, and the Taliban government gave them safe haven. There is no national interest in Iraq. They were not a threat to our security, and the oil that is there is only the interest of a tiny minority of our nation, which is to say those in the energy industry who profit from it. Not only was the invasion intended to serve their interest, it was also managed so that it served the interest of contracting corporations such as Halliburton (of which Cheney had formerly been the CEO) and Bechtel. However, the administration has shown itself to be a loose canon, and unable either to prevent theft by the contractors who have profited from the invasion, nor even to secure the nation of Iraq so that the special interests can profit from the oil. All of this has been at the expense of American lives and the tax dollars of the public, who have been sold a bill of goods.
So many conservatives spout pious crap about an humanitarian mission and a mission to bring democracy to Iraq. But the Shrub and company long ignored the real security threat to our interests which was posed by North Korea, and have only grudging and not credibly acted to deal with that threat. They have long ignored the humanitarian crisis in the Sudan, which not only has the very visible human disaster of Darfur, but which has been involved in a civil war in the south for more than 25 years, and one in which the usual cruelties of civil war and insurrection have been exacerbated by a lively slave trade; originally intended to finance the opposing militias there, it has become an end in itself.
If, as Finn's post suggests, Iraq is a national interest, then one need ask why. Because of their oil? Saudi Arabia has lager reserves of the most valuable grade of petroleum, and also is the home of virulent fundamentalist Islamic terror groups. Because of democracy? Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, it is a monarchy, and the abuse of women is institutionalized to the extent that women are not allowed to drive, and cannot travel alone, nor even travel from their homes without the express permission of whatever adult male controls their household.
I know of no contentions about national security or national interests which will not sink conservatives in a mire of hypocrisy.
The truth is that Saudi Arabia is neither a Democracy nor a Monarchy; it is a Dictatorship and an ally of the US simply because America needs their oil.
As for North Korea, and for that matter, Iraq, Iran and Syria
They are no threat to the US nor Israel, they do not have Nuclear weapons and even if North Korea was nuclear capable they haven't got the means to deliver such a weapon to the US.
Historic fact would tell you if any country really posed a threat to America or Israel they would be vaporised; during the Cuban crisis the US was prepared to start a nuclear war in spite of the fact they had never consulted with their allies.
Why is the US allied to Pakistan which is not only a dictatorship but also a nuclear power that is not signatory to the non-proliferation treaty, it is also the home of many Islamic fundamentalists and terror groups; why is the US driving the fighting in Afghanistan, why are young American's dying in Afghanistan?
It is because of Caspian Sea oil which cannot come through Iran for an obvious reason, therefore any pipeline to serve America's need would have to come through Afghanistan to a port in Pakistan and the US wants that oil.
This present US Administration doesn't give a damn about the rest of the world but they should heed the old cliché, "No man is an island."
