2007-03-04

Let there be another Saddam

I was thinking of writing that the other day. In today's Parade there is an article about the Iraqi army. The author is discussing if they are ready to defend Iraq when the US troops leave. The author might be too optimistic in asking that question. My question is: Is there anything or anyone that can hold Iraq, and the whole region, back so that they won't explode in the face of the United States?

This US initiated war in Iraq has destroyed so much of the country and so many lives with it, does anyone now expect that the country can ever be a functional state again without some strong man like Saddam? The hope of democracy has faded into a world of chaos. Now all the Bush administration can hope for is to get out of there somehow. I guess Bush's hope of throwing this hot potato to the next president is gone and he has to deal with it (Al Gore is smart not to run in 2008). There is only less than two years left. Hail to the cowboy and good luck!

Some US politicians have been talking about splitting Iraq up into three parts. I guess that might work in weakening that country and keep the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds fighting each other so that they won't be able to bother the west. However with so much hatred generated in the people by this war, there is a grave danger even that may not hold the explosion down for very long. Having another Saddam might be a good thing, if not the only hope, for Mr. GWB.

Reading the News

I don't read news papers everyday as there is just not enough time to do that. Besides, news is available online to the larger part.

It is interesting to read in the Ann Arbor News, right in the middle of the first page, about embryonic stem cell research. I guess it is about time, if Michigan wants another chance of getting out of the woods.

Another article of interest is the Other Voices written by Lynn Howard Ehrle titled Automakers, others need to support universal Medicare. It is interesting because my own thoughts are that health care, just like utilities such as electricity, needs to become universally available with the advances of a society. We could argue that having clean water is a personal responsibility, like many politicians say that health care is. However, if we make that a responsibility, what difference is there between today and the days of Jesus roaming the land of Israel? Today in this country hospitals must care for the sick when they arrive in the doors of an ER. Who is responsible for the cost of providing those care without universal health care? The answer to that question seems to be simple and clear. We might have saved a few bucks on those who never make it to an ER, just like the Bush administration may have saved some money by leaving the New Orleans to their own peril. But I just don't believe that is most Americans want this country to be like.

Just as the article writes, if the auto industry does not have to pay the $1250 per vehicle on health care, they would have saved $10 billion. That alone may not save the industry, but at least it gives them a competitive edge against companies from overseas. The big three of Detroit are hardly the only ones that need that edge.