A question for everyone:

[I give]

Most of us are against the war in Iraq--no question there--and we often wish America had never invaded Iraq. Saddam is an old man... what do you think would have happened to Iraq had the United States NOT gone to 'war'?
Let's say Saddam would have passed away in a few months or years... What do you think would have happened to Iraq?

[barbtries]

1. a l and ot of people

would still be breathing. they might still have an infrastructure. this is the war that should never have been.

[I give]

2. Yes

What kind of life would the people have upon his death? You've already mentioned that they'd have retained their infrastructure. Estimate who you think would be running things, their elections, daily life. No question that more people would be alive...

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. Same old shit.

Only with one of his less competent idiot sons in charge.

[I give]

4. Yes...

How do you define 'the same old shit'? (I don't want to assume I know what you mean..):-)

[rogerashton]

5. Spain

Spain did OK after Franco died. We didn't invade Spain to get rid of Franco, and Saddam had a lot in common with Franco.

Of course, Franco was an anti-communist, so I guess that made him one of the "good guys."

I remember some anarchist friends of mine dancing in the streets of Manhattan, singing "We're so glad that you're dead, you rascal you."

[tocqueville]

6. Saddam was crippled after Gulf War

with a bit of smart diplomacy and military pressure (i.e buying him off) he could have been "converted" like Khadaffi. Iraq had been reconstructed and prosperous (oil investments could have been made) and would again be an ally against Iran. The big losers had been the Kurds and the Shiites, but some autonomy could have been negotiated.

The idiot policies that go back to Bush senior through Clinton have resulted in a total meltdown in the region.

[LaurenG]

7. I am enraged over this topic

Who in the hell does the administration think it is? For goodness sake we live in a world with 6 billion other people. Ask yourself WHY anyone would want to decide how another country should be run. The United Nations ie: the rest of the world should have been given a vote. Instead WE dictated how it was going to be. Has the bush administration ever heard of sanctions, especially when there were NO reasons to blow up another country. This is such bs that I'm now on a rant.:banghead: How would you feel if some other country that had nukes decided that we were a threat to the world and just started bombing us? There are millions who think our administration has syphilitic brain disease!

[niallmac]

8. Seemed to me we had him 'contained.'

Baby killing embargo seemed pretty effective. ...(sarcasm there)
This question begs a chicken or the egg question:
What if we hadn't carved up the M.E. willy nilly post WWI ?
What if the U.S. was not in the habit of putting dictators in
power just to secure our overseas 'national interests'? We sure as hell
weren't spreading democracy that day.
What if we hadn't pissed away all that 1970's energy conservation momentum
we started and actually lived with some world energy awareness?
What if I had electro therapy and became a fundie fweeper
and by so being lived a life without bothersome questions?

[DesertRat]

9. to OP: How do you answer the question? n/t

[Kurovski]

10. Don't wait for an answer. The curious l'il freeplette was sent packing.

Tombstoned, canned, whatever.

[Skittles]

11. why do you republicans give a shit?

you don't even care how people live in Louisiana

[Kurovski]

12. That is just about the best response to the phony concern

for Iraqis that Republican's have been shamelessly farting about for 3 years now.

It IS the best response. Every Democrat would do well to commit that one to memory.

Thank you, Skittles.

[Skittles]

13. I am sick of it

they'll go on and on about how we are "giving democracy" to the poor Iraqis, then threaten to nuke them in the same breath if they don't behave the way we dictate. "Republican" has descended into a PC word for FASCIST.

[Bouncy Ball]

16. Crocodile tears.

It's all been crocodile tears. I was talking to a woman a few years ago, right after Iraq was attacked by us and she was all "oh I'm so glad we're helping those poor people" and I was like "OMG give me a big fat break, you don't give a shit about the Iraqis and you never have."

She didn't even bother to argue. I was right. Crocodile tears. They should all be ashamed. Acting like they care so they can get off on bombing the shit out of people.

[Cocoa]

14. only 3% are buying what this person is selling

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/14/3/

3%.

Percentage of Americans who believe Bush decided to go to war to free the Iraqis or promote democracy, according to a new CBS poll. March 14, 2006 1:20 pm | Comment (38)


http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/031306_poll_iraq.pdf

WHY DID BUSH DECIDE TO GO TO WAR?

Protect the U.S. (from terror, WMDs) 21%
To remove Saddam Hussein 9
Because of 9/11 7
Free the Iraqis/promote democracy 3
Protect U.S. oil interests/make money 19
Finish G.H.W. Bush's Gulf War 11
Others in Administration wanted to 8

[Marnieworld]

15. Amen

I love how we are all supposed to be these great humanitarians when it comes to Iraqis (unless we are raiding their homes, rounding them up and incarcerating them indefinitely without due process and often torturing them. Unless we just bomb them from a distance outright. Or we slowly kill them with Depleted Uranium, no clean water, food, medicine, infrastructure, or employment) but it's complete disregard for all of the displaced and often homeless Gulf Coasters here? Excellent response Skittles! :toast:

[Sammy Pepys]

17. I think...

...they would have just put one of his cronies or maybe one of his sons in charge.

[Bridget Burke]

18. But it would not have been OUR FAULT.

Yes, US policy helped Saddam gain power. Going farther back, Western Imperialism can be blamed for many of the evils afoot in the Middle East.

But--as it is--the blood of thousands of Iraqis is on our hands. Also the blood of many of our countrymen.

[Sammy Pepys]

19. Well, guessing what would've happened had Saddam stayed...

...is academic now. There's no way of knowing.

And regardless of whose fault it would've been, it still would've been a terrible situation. Brutality would've remained the status quo.