Sbradley

While I generally agree that we should never have gotten involved in that war in the first place, I think the worst thing we could do now is walk away and leave Iraq as it is.

The Iraqi people deserve the support that we can - and should - give them in getting their country back on its feet. They didn't vote for Saddam, remember, and they sure as Hell didn't have a chance to vote him out either. Their mess is of our making, not theirs.

If we walk away and leave them to rot then we will rightly be accused of coming in, screwing up a sovereign country and then abandoning them. It would be a human catastrophe and would provide ammunition for generations of suicide bombers who would be able to look at the West and see no redeeming features in our actions.

We must stay and clear it up. We must get the infrastructure back together, make sure there's water and power and foster an environment where someone in the Middle East might actually look at the UK with appreciative eyes rather than with resentment.

I'm not saying we should treat it as a bottomless money pit. But we shouldn't ruin what was there and exploit what remains before clearing off and leaving the people to starve either.

But perhaps I digress. Except that this is a long winded way of saying I believe the new Spanish approach is wrong and shortsighted. It may be what the people think they want, but that's because they haven't looked at the big picture. The only people who have won from this are the terrorists.



SB

moses

what will be best is that usa and other europeans ask al qaeda ok if u got what it takes, help rebuild and iraq and help your " muslim brethren" u wanna help so much if u have the ***** to do it, and see what they say, they might have cold feet or a miracle might happen they will help the usa and europeans build iraq

Leslie

Although I opposed the war on Iraq on grounds of international law, I think that there is no way we should pull out of Iraq until the country is back on its feet and capable of self government.

We were partly responsible for the destruction of the country and are morally responsible for restoring its infrastructure and its independence. The Spanish also supported the war at the time and a new goverment is no excuse for ducking their responsibilities.

Les

MJW

While I agree with this statement to a point, you really have to question the moral standpoint : is awarding western companies lucrative re-build contracts really the correct thing to do, or is it just another way of attempting to recoup the money spent on levelling the place ? Obviously the theft of the nation's oil isn't enough !

Back to the point of the new Spanish government, I think Bush and Blair must now be feeling pretty uncomfortable seeing as elections are coming up : the war is proving very unpopular with their respective voters (albeit more so in the UK than the US) and the Spanish election result may be the shape of things to come ..

unclebuck

It cerntainly sets a precedent albeit a distorted one because of the backlash from the bombings. It's interesting to think what would happen if Bush fails to be re-elected, which is a real possibility. Teflon Tone would suddenly look very isolated indeed.

UB

andrew6321

Kerry will be the next president - I would happily place a bet on that, but I can't find decent odds from any bookies....so they obviously feel the same way.

Best odds I could find would give me £130 back from a £100 stake.

Katana

I'm not sure about this socialist thing. True they're left wing and thus in theory should be a more tolerant government but as a capitalist, what will happen if you have a tad bit more money than the average? Are they gonna end up with a 60% tax bracket?

RichardC

I think the reason they were voted out was because like here they were not given the choice to go to war, the first the Spanish knew was when the Prime Minister was standing next to Blair and Bush offering Spain's support!!!

90% of spain disagreed with going to war and after the bombing the people are probably thinking that this was the cause.

What will happen if a bomb goes off in England?, will Labour be voted out?

Leslie

NL is already on a sticky wicket anyway RichardC.

As far as I understand MJW, most of the lucrative rebuilding contracts have been awarded to US companies, so we can't yet be accused of profiteering in that direction. Wonder how much the whole affair has really cost this country so far!

Les