Lt Col Alan B West

[richlevy]

Originally posted by Chewbaccus
If Bush tried to reinstitute anything along the lines of Phoenix in Iraq, the comparisons between him and Hussein's actions could be drawn so easily, you could use Crayola. After that, you would see a ficus plant beat out a Republican at the polls, the party would be that badly gutshot.

I don't care how many ideagogues Bush has surrounded himself with, someone HAS to see that and will put up safeguards to prevent it from happening. Not that I enjoy the thought of them having any sense or reason, but hey, pragmatism above all.

I'm not so sure. Most people know that there is no way that we would want Hussein alive. The best he could hope for is 'shot while trying to escape', since having him alive would allow for any number of embarrassing revelations, especially considering that the US at one point supported his regime.

While the US is probably not gunning for the top military individuals in the deck, noone believes that the US wants any of the missing politicals alive.

It's not too many steps from signing defacto death warrants for a dozen or so individuals to doing so for thousands, especially if the US continues to pay a price in human lives, money, and political capital.

Even now, there are other kinds of 'contractors' in Iraq than the kind who build bridges and pave roads.

I sincerely believe that the things we will see when Bush and company no longer need to consider reelection will be our own version of 'shock and awe'. Very few presidents have ever been impeached. All of the impeachable offenses stem from actions in the US. The US does not recognize any world authority for war crimes committed by the US.

Basically, if Bush jumped in a plane, flew to Iraq, and personally firebombed an orphanage, I'm not sure he would have broken any US laws or committed an impeachable offense.

Congress has already given him financial carte blanche with almost no external oversight. His adminstration has extended executive privelege to a level not seen since Watergate, and found courts willing to block legitimate investigation and inquiry.

They might think can get away with anything in Iraq. They might be right.