Re: [ba-unrev-talk] Connecting the Dots...
Ok. Thanks for the summary and the evaluation, Benja. (01)
I guess I'm just nuts. I feel a responsibility for my
countrymen (and women), and I believe that the decision
not to act will be responsible for thousands, if not
hundreds of thousands, of future deaths. (02)
I understand the positions of people who argue that acting
makes that even more likely. Because there we have an
agreement on goals, and a discussion over methods. (03)
Arguments that attempt to justify it as a "cost of doing
business", on the other hand, well... (04)
Benja Fallenstein wrote:
>
> Hi Eric--
>
> Eric Armstrong wrote:
> > You've kept the structure, summarized the positions, and
> > retained the attributions. What conclusion did you reach?
>
> That your argument falls short on at least three counts.
>
> Firstly, I do not see it as likely that Hussein would sell weapons to
> al-Qaeda. To justify any military action, this would have to be more
> than just likely-- and my conclusion so far is that it is less.
>
> Secondly, even if he did, I do not believe it is the United States' role
> to judge whether military action is appropriate; it's the international
> community's (formally, the Security Council's). I do not believe that
> the US have a special moral authority to do this.
>
> Thirdly, Iraq is not the only place in the world to get dangerous
> weapons. What would it help to attack Iraq specifically?
>
> (I'm not providing arguments here, just my conclusions, as the arguments
> are in the previous mails-- feel free to challenge!)
>
> I also do not see evidence that Hussein still has B or C weapons to sell
> to al-Qaeda, but we have not discussed this yet.
>
> - Benja (05)