Talk:Claim:Saddam was killing his subjects

From dKosopedia

Anyone using these arguments ought to clearly state that the goal of relieving suffering people was a worthy one, but that the methods chosen were not appropriate given that there was no urgency to strike -- except that Bush et al. saw the need to start the war before a less violent solution could be provided by initiatives outside of their control.

There is no statute of limitations on international reactions to gross violations, so there was neither an excuse for failure to deal with Saddam's crimes against humanity nor was there any reason that a response could not have waited for even another year or two. A true coalition and/or a UN police action against Saddam would have resulted in much fewer casualties. It would also have created much less animosity against the US -- especially if Arab nations could have been convinced that regional stability would be greater if anything like the current mess and likely eventual Iranian adventurism could be prevented.

Contributing to the magnitude of the US failure was a general failure among US politicians to understand the Shia/Sunni gap across nations. Our Department of State officials and/or Defense officials generally failed to understand that the conflict, and its reverberations, went far beyond the war between Iraq and Iran. p0m 07:29, 30 April 2008 (PDT)