Everyone knows why the U.S. is in Iraq

[Michael Tee]

Russia's PM knows, too.  Smart man.  Here's his take on the situaion.  From today's AP:

<< . . .  In one question, a mechanic from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk asked the president about comments he said were made some years ago by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who suggested that Siberia had too many natural resources to belong to one country.

<<"I know that some politicians play with such ideas in their heads," he said, dismissing the notion as wishful thinking, or "political erotica that ... hardly leads to a positive result."

"The best example of that are the events in Iraq ? a small country that can hardly defend itself and which possesses huge oil reserves. And we see what's going on there. They've learned to shoot there, but they are not managing to bring order," he said.

<<"One can wipe off a political map some tyrannical regime ... but it's absolutely pointless to fight with a people," he said. "Russia, thank God, isn't Iraq. It has enough strength and power to defend itself and its interests, both on its territory and in other parts of the world."

<<Putin suggested the U.S. campaign was aimed at seizing control of Iraq's vast oil wealth, and said a concrete date must be set for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

<<"I believe one of the goals is to establish control of the country's oil reserves," he said.

<<Unless a date for pulling out is set, Putin said, "the Iraqi leadership, feeling (safe) under the reliable American umbrella, will not hurry to develop its own armed and law enforcement forces.">>

[Plane]

... but it's absolutely pointless to fight with a people," he said.

Unless they are Chechen.



 "Russia, thank God, isn't Iraq. It has enough strength and power to defend itself and its interests, both on its territory and in other parts of the world."

What other parts of the world?

Estonia , Latvia , London?   Wherever assassins can find a Putin critic?

[Michael Tee]

Yes, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  All former satellites and willing partners of Adolf Hitler in his murderous campaign of extermination against the Jews and all countries which, with Nazi Germany, invaded Russia in 1941, to their everlasting regret.  Lithuania, in fact, was one country where the Nazis did not have to dirty their hands with the extermination of the Jews, their trusty Lithuanian partners were given the task themselves and did a pretty good job of it, too.  Every one of those little "Republics" contributed to the deaths of millions of Soviet citizens, and if the Russians choose to keep close tabs on them now, so much the better.  Better yet, if the Russians choose today to nuke the whole God-damn bunch of them.  There is a lot of sympathy for those little swine today, and I put it down to sheer ignorance on the part of the North American public, who know very little and care even less about what happens or happened in that part of the world.

Too bad about the guy that Putin had killed in London.  Aren't you glad the U.S. and its allies don't practice political assassination?  (That was meant sarcastically, BTW.)

[Plane]

Too bad about the guy that Putin had killed in London.  Aren't you glad the U.S. and its allies don't practice political assassination?  (That was meant sarcastically, BTW.)


Sarcasticly ?

So you don't mind it then?

[Michael Tee]

<<Sarcasticly ?

So you don't mind it then?>>]

Of course I mind it.  It was horrible.  The sarcasm applied only to my question, "Aren't you glad the U.S. and its allies don't practice political assassination?"

[Plane]

<<Sarcasticly ?

So you don't mind it then?>>]

Of course I mind it.  It was horrible.  The sarcasm applied only to my question, "Aren't you glad the U.S. and its allies don't practice political assassination?"

I don't like it , could we quit it unilaterally?

[Michael Tee]

<<I don't like it [assassination], could we quit it unilaterally?>>

Why not?  You have excellent defences, and nobody's essential anyway.  The worst that could happen would be once in a while an assassin would break through your defences and assassinate some innocent guy.  This couldn't be prevented by your guys assassinating one of their guys, in fact if you DID assassinate one of theirs, it would just provide the motivation for a counter-strike anyway.

[Plane]

<<I don't like it [assassination], could we quit it unilaterally?>>

Why not?  You have excellent defences, and nobody's essential anyway.  The worst that could happen would be once in a while an assassin would break through your defences and assassinate some innocent guy.  This couldn't be prevented by your guys assassinating one of their guys, in fact if you DID assassinate one of theirs, it would just provide the motivation for a counter-strike anyway.

  That probably explains the death of Bobby Kennedy , why elese would Yassir Arafat fight for the release of Sirhan Sirhan.

   I don't know if the "Carter Doctrine " is viable because if the threat of conterstrike is absent why shouldn't there be a swarm of assassins attacking our presidents and high officials?


    On the other hand I agree that it is  thing that only seldom would be effective  .


    This reminds me of the English effort to kill Hitler. Several times British made bombs were carried into Hitlers presence by agents or officers who were trying to kill him , Hitler was pretty lucky about being a little late or early for the explosion , once he was simply on the other side of a thick oak table that protected his torso while the bomb literally blew his pants off.

    Late in the war , when victory was becomeing more certain there was a last chance to kill Hitler , an agent was placed where he might be able to serve poison in Hitlers tea. At a high level it was decided that kiling Hitler might only replace him with someone more competant. That last scheme was abandoned and Hitler went on to shame himself further raher than dieing as a martyer and went to his grave with his proper share of blame for what went wrong.

     It may be fun to speculate about what might have been diffrent if one of the assinations on Hitler had worked but one can speculate that th case would have been worse instead of better just as easily.