I would like to know what theists think about Iraq!

[fleeming]

Any opinions on the war in Iraq...

Is it worth it?

Is America being hypocritical by not chasing other nations with weapons of mass destruction?

The oil factor?

I'm from Australia, whether America goes to war or not does not really concern me, however I disagree with my country fighting other peoples battles. Fair enough, if America was attacked, we are your allies and we should come to whatever (even if meagre, with our population) assistance. However this whole thing smacks of craziness, Dubya from over here is going a little overboard with his need to keep the great American war machine going.

Any comments?

 

What about your opinions on the Muslim belief?

 

[wildernesse]

Is Iraq worth what? Going to war over? It depends. Is it worth trampling over the rest of the world and breaking international law? No. Will it keep us safe(r)? Maybe--although more pressure for freedoms/democracy in Saudi Arabia would probably be more effective.

Is America being hypocritical by not being as aggressive about N.Korea (for example)? I think so.

I think that the control of oil is a very small issue in the Iraq factor.

I believe that Muslims worship God the best way they know how--just like everyone else who believes.

--tibac

 

[kern]

As to the "other nations" question, one aspect of that is that there are limited resources for a war effort. Just because we are not going after all nations with these weapons does not *necessarily* mean that we shouldn't go after any of them. I'm not claiming that Bush's motives are entirely pure here, but I don't think we need to go after every weapons-bearing country in the world in order to justify action against Iraq.

-Chris

 

[fleeming]

I think that the control of oil is a very small issue in the Iraq factor. 

What do you think the major factor is then?

 

I think that America has got its grubby little fingers in too many pies. Isreal and the Palestinians springs to mind. I really believe that they create more problems than they solve. We still now are feeling the ramifications of Vietnam.

 

[wildernesse]

kern,

I think that international law has methods for dealing with armed and dangerous nations, and that those methods should be implemented in all cases. I don't think that leads us necessarily to war each and every time (and if it did, those methods should be reexamined because they're ineffective). Yes, I think that there are different ways of dealing with each situation, but I think that if our primary reason we're giving for invading Iraq is that they have wmd, and then we find another enemy country with similar capabilities/motives and just shrug it off, then we need to investigate the real reason behind invading Iraq.

Why is NKorea different than Iraq in this sense?

--tibac

 

[fleeming]

But I don't think we need to go after every weapons-bearing country in the world in order to justify action against Iraq.

But honestly, what threat has Iraq over America. They certainly don't have the ability to launch a long range pre-emptive strike. They may well employ terrorism, however if the States goes in there all guns blazing, they will create more problems that they solve.

 

For every innocent Iraqi  killed in a war, there is a pontential for one more ****ed off terrorist.

 

[fleeming]

Why is NKorea different than Iraq in this sense?

 

I don't think they are different. In weaponry terms, they are much more dangerous with the proven ability to launch long range missiles.

 

[seebs]

Well, as a Christian, I don't think I should stay out of something just because it doesn't threaten *me*. Hussein is a threat to lots of people, his own among them. For all his complaints about being unable to afford feeding his people, he can afford to keep a large army and build new palaces - as in, more than one *palace*. Sure seems like a problem with priorities, and a fatal one.

Basically, I think war to remove him from power is justified simply in that he is insane, dangerous, and heavily armed.

 

[fleeming]

Originally posted by seebs
Well, as a Christian, I don't think I should stay out of something just because it doesn't threaten *me*. Hussein is a threat to lots of people, his own among them. For all his complaints about being unable to afford feeding his people, he can afford to keep a large army and build new palaces - as in, more than one *palace*. Sure seems like a problem with priorities, and a fatal one.

Basically, I think war to remove him from power is justified simply in that he is insane, dangerous, and heavily armed.

 

Why do then America turn a blind eye to other similar regimes though? No political gain in spouting the inevitable war rhetoric that goes with this...

Infamous Quote from Hermann Goering

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

 

[caley]

Originally posted by fleeming
Any opinions on the war in Iraq...

yes.

Is it worth it?

no.

Is America being hypocritical by not chasing other nations with weapons of mass destruction?

Yes.  Is America being hypocritical by owning weapons of mass destruction while claiming that others cannot? yes.

The oil factor?

Bush is an oil man, he has ties to all the major oil companies, I think oil is a huge factor in this conflict.

I'm from Australia, whether America goes to war or not does not really concern me, however I disagree with my country fighting other peoples battles. Fair enough, if America was attacked, we are your allies and we should come to whatever (even if meagre, with our population) assistance. However this whole thing smacks of craziness, Dubya from over here is going a little overboard with his need to keep the great American war machine going.

Any comments?

 
War is morally repugnant.  I would never fight in any war.  I will only use violence in personal self defense.

(to those who may interpret the above comment as cowardice, I will say this:  I would be perfectly willing to die for my strongest beliefs, but I would never be willing to kill for them.)

What about your opinions on the Muslim belief?

The religion of Islam, like Christianity can be interpreted to either condone or not condone violence.  Most of the violence made in the name of the religion is made by governments who have taken the religion and wish only to use it to increase their own power.

 

[seebs]

I've never understood the oil thing. U.S. oil companies are richest when we *don't* have good flow of oil from the Mideast. I don't see them having much interest in sorting things out there.

 

[Michael0701]

"The religion of Islam, like Christianity can be interpreted to either condone or not condone violence.  Most of the violence made in the name of the religion is made by governments who have taken the religion and wish only to use it to increase their own power."

Interesting comment.  As for muslim fundamentalism/extremism, which government can we point a finger at and accuse them of expanding their own power?  Which government is funding terrorism and training the terrorists who threaten Israeli and US citizens?  Who is resposible for the violence caused by suicide bombers and islamic kamikazees?

 

[Michael0701]

Fleeming,

You ask if a war with Iraq worth it?

I believe that the end justifies the means.  By that, if the result was an end to human suffering and brought stability to a region which desperately needs it, then yes.


The oil factor?

What oil factor?  No one here in the US is going to be dancing in the streets because our price of gasoline dropped to pre 1974 prices.  It will never happen.  Will some companies profit from the war, of course.  There is always money to be made from a war, but that is not the reason for war.  That is just a lame excuse from those who oppose the war.


You say the war doesn't concern you, but you can be assured that if something doesn't happen to change the situation in the middle east, and soon, the bombing of a club in Bali will soon come to your shores.


America was attacked!

 

[fleeming]

Originally posted by Michael0701
Fleeming,

You ask if a war with Iraq worth it?

I believe that the end justifies the means.  By that, if the result was an end to human suffering and brought stability to a region which desperately needs it, then yes.


The oil factor?

What oil factor?  No one here in the US is going to be dancing in the streets because our price of gasoline dropped to pre 1974 prices.  It will never happen.  Will some companies profit from the war, of course.  There is always money to be made from a war, but that is not the reason for war.  That is just a lame excuse from those who oppose the war.


You say the war doesn't concern you, but you can be assured that if something doesn't happen to change the situation in the middle east, and soon, the bombing of a club in Bali will soon come to your shores.


America was attacked!

I think Iraq is a lot more stable than Isreal and Palestine, terrorism continues over there en masse even with America's input into the region. The people over there don't wan't to be told what to do by some far off country, be it the US, England or Australia. These people have different beliefs and a form of government and we should respect that. There may be much human suffering over there, however there is human suffering in every country. We all have skeletons in our closet, some much more than others.

 

Bush is almost just as nuts as Saddam, what right does he have to harbour weapons of mass destruction and who will stop him using them against innocent people if he so desires. America with that nutcase leading them scares me more than Iraq at the moment. They play by their own rules, ignoring everyone else, including the UN.

 

This war on terrorism is giving ruling goverments unprecedented power to change laws at their own will in the name of keeping the peace. The Bali bombing had nothing to do with Iraq, it was funded by Muslim extremists.

 

A war on terrorism is a battle between beliefs, and to kill thousands of innocent civilians in a pointless war, will as I said before just make more angry individuals who will flock to Al Queda in droves to get back at the wrongs that have been sent to them from a distant country.

You guys just haven't learnt from Vietnam....one of the first things is when someone sticks their unwanted nose in my business....this is the same thing. Let the UN handle it, not a gung-ho sherrif from Texas. 


NOTE: Don't use asterisks instead of letters in an attempt to use bad language. Please refrain from doing this again. Thank you.