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I don't want to get into any political debate, but I have a question.

Though I don't totally support Bush's propsal to spend so much money on a missle-defense program, how else do you defend against "rogue" nations like Iraq and North Korea, who we know have nuclear capabilities, without some type of missle defense program. Because they're "rogue" nations (Hussein is a tyrannical jerk and you can't refute that) you can't exactly tell them to stop with a simple ABM-type treaty. They won't listen.


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There's always the old Curtis LeMay strategy: Bomb 'em back to the Stone Age.


#38757 09/01/01 04:45 AM
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> they can go ahead with ploughing the billions required into their mates' defence companies

YES! And that is the sole reason!

Jazzo regurgitates: Hussein is a tyrannical jerk

I wouldn't want to have him baby-sit my child, fair enough - but then I wouldn't leave my sister alone with Clinton either. Try, if you will, for a moment to put yourself in HIS shoes and see things from his side of the fence instead of granting a 'Yes' and 'Amen' to your government because CNN says he's a very bad man, because he treats his people poorly. Who has sanctioned hisgovernment year after year? Don't you see that the U.S. demonises the Arabic states and their leaders in order to have a good excuse to war-monger without public pressure. Put down that ozzie and open your mind a tad. Far from so-called rogue nations being the main problem, it is U.S. unilateralism, too often fixed in obsessions and objectives, whose trajectory gives most cause for concern.


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>Put down that ozzie...

well, I'm loath to interject a question concerning usage into these fascinating philippics, but what does "ozzie" mean in this context? I thought an ozzie was an Australian....

>I don't want to get into any political debate, but...
>I have no desire to get into a political fracas over this, but...
>I'm loath to interject a question concerning usage, but..

these constructions are all nice examples of one form of the rhetorical device known as apophasis (denial). [yart]


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This whole thread is, by default, political in nature. Since there appear to be none of us who is prepared to defend M. Bush except in very specific instances where the facts stated are indubitably incorrect, it can hardly be called a political argument.

In the US versus Iraq debate, you have a nonentity seemingly incapable of truly original thought versus a very cunning tyrant who has proven himself capable of a very original approach to what he sees as threats to his power base and, for that matter, his life.

If Dubya gets the axe at the next election, he goes into retirement and sets up the George W. Bush Presidential Library, surely the only one which is likely to consist mainly of Donald Duck comics. On the other hand, if Saddam Hussein is retired, it's likely to be more than just his presidency that he'll lose.

Dubya worries me because of what he's capable of doing through ignorance and error. Saddam Hussein worries me because of what he's likely to do to survive ...



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#38761 09/03/01 08:58 AM
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Jeez, can't bring myself to write in "defense" of anyone but our Tone seems to be getting on with GW just fine. I can't believe that our "special relationship" would result in any deflected missals on our patch. GW only has to say the word, just like Ole Bill before and we're always "happy to help"!

A Cynic (distant relative to Ron O and ilk)


#38762 09/03/01 09:31 AM
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Any significance in the colour of the page - brown?


#38764 09/03/01 01:00 PM
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I am so impressed by what people who have posted on this thread, have said and illumined for me about our missile defense system. I would read the New YOrk Times and listen to NPR but I could never get the clarity that I have gotten here. So please LET US NOT "OUTLAW" POLITICAL DEBATES ON THIS BOARD. FOR SOME OF US THIS MIGHT BE MORE ENLIGHTENING THAN WHAT IS BEING REGURGITATED FOR US BY THE SO-CALLED NEWS ANALYST. THE TOPICS DISCUSSED HERE ARE IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US. WE SHOULD USE ALL MEANS POSSIBLE, INCLUDING THE USE OF THIS BOARD, TO OPEN MINDS AND I HOPE, TO MAKE THIS DEMOCRACY MOVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TOWARD AN IDEAL ONE.
WE HAVE ALL THE FREEDOM PROVIDED BY TECHNOLOGY, ON THIS BOARD, TO SKIP WHAT WE DO NOT RELISH AND ONLY READ THE ONES WE ARE INTERESTED IN.

IMHO


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