The Mongoose is Smiling

All this is Re: That dossier

Page 26: Two were bombed. I'm sorry. We bombed nuclear reactors during the gulf war? Hello? Even a small research magnox reactor is NOT a safe thing to shut down through bombing. Would you be happy if the one at aldermasten had been bombed? We'd be short one habitable London if it had. Ahem. Rant aside, these docs are:

1. Nothing new. Everything in them has been said before.
2. Unsubstantiated. Duh. If they gave sources, collecting more intelligence would be made harder. But without some raw source it is hard to be sure that the conclusions they have reached are sensible.
3. They claim that Iraq is trying to hide weapons productions as legitimate things. They admit that many things have legitimate uses too. It is kinda hard to see what is so scary about "sixty thousand aliminium tubes" or a nitric acid prodcution plant.
4. Although PR managed, it is a good step towards getting people involved in democracy. I don't know how many will read the full dossier, but it's more than got the chance before the gulf war. Of course, the cynic in me suspects that the public will still reject war, and Iraq will still continue to be bombed.

Note - CONTINUE to be bombed. We never stopped bombing Iraq.

Oh, and for future reference downing street: Documents in html form please, pdf is a pain.

Page 35. Heh. Yes, the regime likes its palaces - but one wonders what sattelite capability you are hiding under that splodge?

Gah - I have been sucked in for an hour or so worth of work. This is not an attempt to persuade the public - this is an attempt to redefine the terms of the argument. It does not matter whether Iraq has weapons or not. Israel has nukes. India has nukes. Pakistan has nukes. The issue is that a regime we do not approve of has nukes. How long can we keep Iraq poverty stricken and impotent? A year? Five years? A decade? And when they finally do develop into a more powerful nation - how will they remember their neighbours on this planet; as helpful veterans who showed them the way, or as faceless guards who tried to ban them from their servers? Be NICE to newbies - and do not respond to the provocation of llamas.

It is a deceptively slippery argument that is being used here. The politicians cede some of my points (as I cede some of theirs) They say "Well yes, removing the weapons is not a full solution - we need to force a regime change as well". Clever politicians, have a cookie for wrapping us so many ways.

Now, here is an evil idea. Take the soldiers in, and set up - by force - a starbucks and a maccy d's and a few other shops on every high street. Flood the economy with US dollars. Be so ubiquitous that no manner of police action could force people to stay away - and be there on the street so that no propoganda could be effective without you hearing it. It's a horrible thought - and it would involve a few casualties, but if the US way of life really is better then you don't need to bomb people, you just need to give them access.

Al Quaeda would have a hernia, of course; and I'm not too happy about the idea either. But it's just a logical extension of the 'golden arches of peace' principle. Although I think Israel has a maccy d's, so maybe it's not so fool proof (or bomb proof) after all.

Actually, seriously - why not? You could flood the market with vast quantities of sustenance and luxury goods. The ruling family could hoard some of it - and destroy some more, but if you put enough around then the general populous would get lots. America is seen as generous rather than mercenary; the ruling family loses much of its power. With american troops all over the place there can be a few killings, but mass "You will say nothing against me" terror can't keep hold. Anyone who wants it can get soldier guards. It is impotant to NOT be seen to influence the press - but protect sides that are critical of the new regime equally.

After a decade or so, start to pull slowly out. Now this is the hard part - it is rather too easy to have a new regime simply step in and steal something. Replacing the husseins with the mafia is hardly an improvement. So yes, you need a few horrifying object lessons - teach people that it isn't a good idea to band together to try and overthrow the all encomapssing reign of maccy d.

Remind me again what the object was? Oh yeah - a peaceful region. Homogenisation will do that. Nothing else will do that.