In Reply to: Are you kidding? posted by Jim Thorpe on Tuesday, 11. October 2005 at 20:36 Bali Time:
I see flaws on both sides, and you say I'm anti-this and anti-that, and I keep repeating that I am against the abuse of power, and for empowering individuals. Empowering individuals is what democracy is supposed to be about, at least partially. Remember that before you start exhuming Joe McCarthy and dobbing in the reds.
You are against the abuse of power in the hands of anyone other than the US. You justify and explain away everything the US does. You are the biased one here, not me.
I am aware of the oil for food scandal. That doesn't negate the deaths that occurred because of the sanctions, which followed from the bombing of infrasture in a manner that contravenes international laws.
Of course Saddam let others go poor before he let himself suffer. He was a friggin' dictator. Who on earth thought he would act differently? Were sactions imposed in some bizarre belief he would act differently?
The important difference is that he didn't let people starve before the sanctions, because the means were there to avoid this. Iraq's standard of living was quite reasonable before the first Gulf war. But seventy percent of their food was imported, and many food processing plants were destroyed. There was very little clean water anywhere, and they couldn't import chlorine to purify water. Most of the children died from diorrhea.
Saddam killed thousands of Iraqis. The US and its allies killed millions through wars and sanctions. Those are the numbers. I didn't make them up. I just reported them. Which the US Government, military and press never does.