Some congratulations today from various quarters on the beginning of the Saddam Hussein trial. I think Hussein's lawyers should subpoena members of the Reagan Administration, including special envoy Donald Rumsfeld. Really, we this is a serious matter. We have a sort of amnesia about how things worked. For instance, early in the bloody Iran-Iraq War, Iraq was losing. But, helped by the United States, Saddam Hussein was able to stick it out ... allowing many more years of death until the war ended in a sort of draw. The U.S. gave Iraq aid, a couple countries were allowed to continue to sell them weapons, and the U.S. even supplied a bit of intel to help Iraq out.
Sure, we tried to play both sides a bit at some point (Iran Contra, etc.), but we clearly favored Iraq. This was done as a sort of balance of power move. We knew what sort of person we were dealing with, of course -- we were not that stupid. In fact, later in the decade, after a particular heinous human rights violation, we continued to assist Iraq. And, now, various sorts are patting themselves on the back, and noting how heinous Saddam is etc. Only New Republic sorts (the loser Democrat brigade) actually admit such things and see the invasion as in part a sort of penance. Good thing we lied to the country about the war!
Yes, let us go there as well. We still have people -- including Sen. Graham -- suggesting that we went to war to overturn Saddam Hussein's administration. Sorry ... see, I was there, so to speak. In other words, I can recall the reasons supplied. And, of course, they had something to do with WMDs. Saddam Hussein was a bad man for years -- helped by the United States for at least half the time -- but something more was needed to sell the war. His downfall -- surely not a painless enterprise, especially the deceitful and faulty way it was done -- is a good thing. As was, to use a favorite comparison, Hitler's. But, we didn't go to war with Germany because he was a bad man. Nor did Great Britain. We did because we were invaded ... GB for a sort of (to continue the comparison) Kuwait invasion thing, though in Hitler's case he actually did invade the proverbial Saudi Arabia (France etc.).
But, his trial continues to let our leaders lie to us. This is annoying, got to say. Anyway, the rumor -- do not hope for much, look what that got NY sports fans -- that Rice is going to replace Cheney for Vice President is a pretty amusing. Catch up on those Commander in Chief episodes, Condi -- that Donald Sutherland is dangerous!*
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* An interesting bit of casting is the Speaker of the House's (whose connections to people in the President's administration reminds one of Hamilton interfering with the Cabinet members President Adams kept from the previous administration -- the last episode in fact referenced President Tyler's troubles, the show having a sense of history) top aide -- she is best known for various B-movie roles including as a man hungry alien in Species and the VIP-like t.v. show She Spies. Still, she was in the Whole Nine Yards.