Who has the rights here?

Mr. Robin Parsons

Given what this forum Here states, and the stated intent of the US, as ‘liberator’, and “freeing the peoples of Iraq” the question is begged as to whether or not the US has the right to control the rebuilding of Iraq.

Will the Iraqi people be free to decide the fate of their oil?

Do they have the right to have it traded in EU Dollars after the ‘rebuild’?

Who should be the ones deciding?

The US has already stated that it does not want the UN involved.

(P.S. That forum’s piece is a very good one, as far as I can tell, and well worth the read!)

kyleb

well i don't think we have the right to do what we are doing in the moment; so in my book; the sooner we stop claiming the "right" the better. also we need to offer a lot of assistance to the constructive plans of others if we want to get out of this without a whole lot of people being really pissed off. unfortunately, i highly doubt anything of the sort will come to pass any time soon.[:((]

Mr. Robin Parsons

Sort of out loud if the people who like to keep telling me that they are all for this war as to Free the Iraqi's of the "Oppressive" Saddam, are actually willing to back up there words, sort of agreeing that the Iraq'i People will definetely be FREE to decide for themselves in which currency they want there oil traded in, EU of American "Greenbacks".

Sort of like to see there words in writing, ya know, LIBERTY FOR IRAQ!!

Sting

I can't say that I'm pro-war or anti-war because I really don't know the whole story to make a sensible judgement, howver those questions that you have posted are the same questions I have asked and me being the cynical person that I am, I have a feeling this war is more than just "liberating" Iraq.

But that's just a gut feeling.

damgo

Well, I personally support the war because I think Iraq will be much better off afterwards. But are they really gonna be free... I doubt it. And I am under no illusions that the Bush adminstration is doing this out of their concern for the Iraqi people. Remember, the US government (and Rumsfeld incidentally) supported Saddam in the early 80's, when he was just as scummy as he was today, and when he was actually using his chemical weapons to slaughter Iranians. But then Iraq was our ally against Iran, just as now the Pakistanis and Saudis are our allies now. In another twenty years, who knows what repressive regimes in the region we will be allied with?

kat

At the moment USAID is orchestrating contracts for rebuilding, with USAID funds. So I don't see a problem with those contracts going to U.S. countries. HOWEVER, and this is a big however..Oil money's must continue to go into an Iraqi fund and I believe that is the setup atm, with Annan overseeing funding.

In order for Iraqi's to be able to decide anything they have to be in a position where they can speak and vote freely. This isn't, nor has it ever been in any country, an overnight event.

I don't believe that the U.S. said no U.N. involvement, I think it only excluded certain types of involvement. It certianly deserves watching and I have to admit having an unsettling gut feeling that Americans will lose interest in monitoring what it's goverment is allowing in Iraq once the media stops flashing it on tv hour after hour.

Mr. Robin Parsons

Sadly, even with PM'ing, I've yet to see one person state that they think that Iraqi's are going to be able to decide their own fate, vis a vis the currency that oil is traded in.

Have any of you any real idea of just how important this issue is, to the American economy??

kyleb

well i think the problem is that the Iraqi's are going to be able to decide their own fate, vis a vis the currency that oil is traded in is not important for the American economy. although i know there are many who would say that this is exactly why it is not a problem at all. [s(]

GENIERE

The USA has the right to ensure the safety of its citizens.
The USA has the right to protect its national interests.

World peace and stability are required to accomplish above.
War is necessary when other means fail. Appeasement has always failed.
Peace inevitably follows war. Stability requires a sustained peace.

The future Iraqi government will be democratic and maintained as a democracy by the presence of the USA military. This presence may continue for 10-15 years or as long as it takes to insure stability in the region.

If the government of the USA proceeds in the direction I wish it to, it will place a large contingent of troops on the Iraq1-Syrian border. Syria will be required to remove its military presence from Lebanon. Syria will be required to imprison terrorist groups it now harbors. The Saudis will have to be called to account for their support of terrorists. Its been reported that if the Saudi princes allowed a free election, they would elect UBL as president. In the case of the Saudis, I would enforce a complete ban of oil exports
Iran, with some covert help from the USA, is likely to align itself with the USA once it achieves a totally secular government. The Palestinians must have a secure and economically viable homeland. Israel must help economically and be much less rigid in its policies. An economic partnership of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel would be a wonderful thing. N. Korea is not an immediate threat to the USA. It is an immediate threat to its neighbors, who must act in their own self-interest to avoid preemptive action by the USA.

The UN has proven itself irrelevant and without re-organization will go the way of the League of Nations. A world court, world government or any international body restricting the activities of the USA in protecting its citizens and interests is a complete anathema to me.

In all matters, the USA will try to proceed in a manner agreeable to the 45 nations who supported us in the war.

As to those who wish our economy to suffer, it suffices to say that the world’s economy follows ours. Only the terrorists gain.

Iraqi currency will be tied to the dollar, not the Euro. The Brits have the most viable economy in Europe and may not adopt the Euro. The Euro is tied to the presently failing economies of Germany and France. Why would one wish to rely on the Euro in supporting world wide economic stability?

Regards

Zero

Yes and yes....but not at the expense of other peoples, other countries.

GENIERE

Well Zero, I would like to agree with you. Other peoples, however, have interests in violent opposition to our interests. What course of action do we follow when peaceful means fail?

Regards

kyleb

well GENIERE, when you think peaceful means fail; then you run around like a terrorist and kill anyone who gets in your way. [s(]

Zero

You have to also consider the actions in our interests that have caused negative effects worldwide. Remember, Saddam Hussein is there because America put him there. How many terrorists recieved CIA training?

Raavin

Ahhh, mmmmmm, errrrr. I have a hard time dealing with the hardcore, pro-war stance.

I don't think that anyone believes otherwise. The debatable point is whether Iraq posed a direct threat to US citizens to protect against.

I know Australia's one but the vast majority of the population of Oz wouldn't agree. The US also has unilateral agreements with other nations which effectively exempt them from being accused of war crimes. Who is manipulating the UN and does the US really care if they do things which are agreeable?

Agreed.

Huh???

What the...???

I'm in shock and awe???

I don't usually resort to this and I know that this is not an argument which holds much water, but you are obviously on drugs. Or maybe it's me and your post is all just an hallucination. Seriously, wake up and smell the public opinion.

In answer to the original questions

Will the Iraqi people be free to decide the fate of their oil?

Of course not. The majority of oil will go to the US under rules set down by the US. After they put US contractors in, they will probably change the food for oil program into a oil for rebuilding program.

Do they have the right to have it traded in EU Dollars after the ‘rebuild’?

Seems like a fair question. Why anyone should think they they should trade in US dollars is beyond me. The US does not own the world, even though they might hold them to ransom

Who should be the ones deciding?

After the disaster of the war, that's a difficult question to answer. Iraq will probably be split into a whole heap of political factions, but should free elections be held then it would be logical that the new Iraqi government do it.

Raavin [g)]

russ_watters

Yes, yes, yes, the US/UK. You're hoping for some hypocrisy on this issue? You won't get any from me. This is not to say that you really BELIEVE me...


OT: What part of that quote doesn't hold water? A great many people have stated that the only acceptable way to achieve peace is for the US (and Israel, and pretty much the entire western world) to cease to exist. Raavin, Geniere's post seemed pretty reasonable to me. If you could clarify which part seems to be the result of a drug-induced halucination and why, I'd appreciate it.

rutwig

This is quite demagogic. National interests are of course the first priority of a country, but the policy of Iraq is by no means dangerous for the US. This is trivializing the problem.

Have you ever been in Israel?
They are really at the focus of fundamentalist terrorism, and they have really reasons to answer like they do, killing the opposite part. If one has not lived in a country continuously struck by terrorism, he will scarcely understand what the fear of terrorism signifies.



This is funny! Ok, your opinion about the nonbrits is negative, but this should not influence you objectivity.

Raavin

I was actually saying that saying he was on drugs wasn't an argument, but the drug induced reference was based on the quotes I posted. Have a look at them again. You mustn't have read them the first time. The comments range from extreme fantasy to completely missed irony.

I don't agree with terrorism. It is a horrible thing. The US government is out and proud about it though under the guise of a war against it. It is a frustrating and all too real joke. If the US directed the money they are putting into this war into more helpful programs, maybe we wouldn't have come to this. We could have won the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people long ago. Maybe they would have had the courage to overthrow the government themselves. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, the US is flexing it's muscles to make the rest of the world terrified. What ever you do don't cross the US decision makers. They are nuts. If I was a conspiricy theorist I would almost say that the US government is deliberately putting the US at risk in order to justify it's gradual taking over of the rest of the world. But I'm not, so I won't

Raavin [:))]