On Tue, 22 Dec 1998, Reeza! blathered thusly: :>*WHY* is it any of our business whether he owns weapons of *any* kind? WE :>own them, and we USE them: Does this give other nations the right to :>embargo us, and to bomb us into oblivion if we refuse to allow THEM to :>tell US what to do? :> :>Our concern for his weaponry should only be an issue *IF* he uses them, as :>with *OUR* weaponry. Yours is the classical anti-gun argument, and it's :>no more effective at the international level than at the state level. : :This would be a valid argument, if he had not already sanctioned Kuwait. :OOPS. Did you forget that? Hrmm... And we have never "sanctioned" (gotta love those innocuous euphemisms) any soveriegn State? What good for the goose is not good for the gander? I repeat, *what gives us the RIGHT* to determine his weaponry or lack thereof? :Your arguments would be better applied to Somalia and Bosnia than they are :to Iraq. Our presence in those countries was of a slightly different :character than it is in Iraq now isn't it??? Yes indeed. In these two countries we were there only to watch over the slaughter, not to perpetuate it ourselves. Mustv'e ruined your Military Day (tm), huh Reeza? :>:Reeza! :>:DH Key available on request :>Note that your DH Key is a "munition"... Shouldn't you be "qualified" to :>have it by the USG - strictly for the safety of the world, of course... :> :>Yours, :>J.A. Terranson :>sysadmin@mfn.org : :well J.A., my DH Key is just as much a "munition" as my house key, legal :definitions not-withstanding. I see the law means much to you. This why you joined the military? Or is it that they wouldn't take you over at James Bond School? :The affairs of Men rarely rely on the dictates of logic, or even common sense. : : : "Yeah, they mostly rely on something below the belt." : : -- my older sister She must've heard your "Eat my military shorts" comment... Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org -- If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they should give serious consideration towards setting a better example: Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate... This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers, associates, or others. Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the first place... --------------------------------------------------------------------