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DarkSteven -> RE: The Associated Press: US congressman wants Iraq to repay US for war cost (6/12/2011 5:27:22 AM)
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I doubt it'll fly.
Had Iraq invaded us and we beat the snot out of them, then there would be accepted precedent for demanding reparations. Had we invaded them and simply grabbed spoils, there'd be precedent for that as well, and not good. It would likely inflame the Muslim world, ad IMO rightly so. Especially since our invasion was done under false pretenses.
Our Iraq policy has always been psychotic. First we declared Iraq a threat on the basis of WMD. Then we invaded, and the goal was a quick military victory. After that, the justification for invasion changed several times - Iraq was behind 9-11, we would establish a beachhead of democracy in the Middle East and somehow democracy would spread naturally to the whole area, Saddam tried to kill Pappa Bush - until the idea of liberating the country from dictator Saddam was decided upon as the most justifiable. We then used the armed forces for nation building and belatedly tried to figure out what the hell sort of government the Iraqis should get/was feasible to expect. We still don't know what success will look like but are not leaving yet because we don't want to admit that we have no clue what we're doing and have or have not achieved our goal.
Analogy - you are in an old house that had the foundation shift and the resulting wall slippage is causing all sorts of problems. Some contractor shows up unbidden and without consulting with you demolishes the old house and foundation, while you are still living there. He thereupon tries to read some books on general contracting to figure out how to build a house, and ends up doing it with expensive sheets of copper and reinforced Kevlar for the building material. While he does so, your kids steal some of the copper and resell it for cash. He subcontracts with a security company to prevent the thefts....
The Arab world and Iran already are suspicious that we invaded for oil. Frankly, they've never been given a justification that they understand. If we demand reparations/conqueror's booty, I expect OPEC to jack up the cost of oil to the US and likely the rest of the world in retaliation.
Simply acknowledge that the invasion was one of the worst mistakes ever made in history, and suck up the cost.
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