Interview with Albright: "Iraq Was a Really Badly Planned Operation"

[Kellanved]

With the US bogged down in Iraq and Iran defiant over its nuclear program, US foreign policy makers are faced with numerous challenges. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about breeding terrorists in Iraq, the Iran crisis, and how the Haditha massacre became possible.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ms. Albright, America's image in the world isn't in great shape these days. Things are looking especially bad in Iraq with daily reports of violence, the country teetering on the brink of civil war, and now a scandal erupting over an alleged massacre perpetrated by the US military in the town of Haditha. Are you happy that you are not Secretary of State right now?

Albright: It is a mixed feeling. Things are really in bad shape. If the Democrats were still in power, they wouldn't be in this kind of shape. On the one hand, it's a little bit of a relief not having to deal with it. On the other, though, it is somewhat frustrating having to watch it. If you really care about the foreign policy of your country and spent a lot of time taking care of it, being confronted with the question as to how long it will now take the US to regain its reputation abroad is difficult. I am afraid it's going to take awhile. Reputations of countries are very hard to put back together.
...
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,419417,00.html

[bemildred]

1. It was stupid to do it in the first place.

Better planning might have made it less disastrous, but it would not have made it NOT disastrous.

[The2ndWheel]

2. Just throw a few sanctions at them

That would be worth it.

[Briar]

3. No

it was from start to finish (whenever that occurs) an illegal operation which should never have been undertaken.

[cliss]

4. Like many others here at the DU,

I was NEVER in favor of waging war against Iraq.

[Spoonerian]

6. I hope you also weren't in favor

of Albright's planning and execution of the besiegement and starvation of Iraq as Albright proudly planned and executed for at least 4 years.

This causes me to wonder about trying to rank the various mass murderers on planet earth. On one hand the republican cowboys seem nastier with all of their flashy "bring it on" and "dead or alive" bullshit. But, after 4 years and at least a trillion dollars of all out war, all they can show for it is about 100,000 dead at best.

Compare that with the 500,000 that Albright quietly boasted that she, Cristopher, and Clinton delivered to the War god when they were moving the chess pieces in the Grand Game--all without losing one precious US mass murdering pawn. Now that's some good planning for you.

So, who should get the #1 ranking for the meanest mass murdering cabal since the 1990's? the republican cowboys? or the yankee elites as represented by Albright, Christoper, and Clinton?

The same goes for the good old days when "the Greatest Generation" planned and executed "the Good War." We're used to hearing people rank Mao, Stalin, and Hitler (in various orders) in the top 3 mass murderer rankings based on their having murdered millions or tens of millions over the courses of their lifetime careers.

But, what if instead of using lifetime statistics, we ranked our mass murderers by how fast they could kill 100,000 people. Using this measure Roosevelt and Churchill leave Mao, Stalin, and Hitler in the dust as Mao, Stalin, and Hitler couldn't even dream of killing 100,000 people in just a few seconds or a few days as Roosevelt and Churchill did at Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

[cliss]

7. Thanks for pointing that out.

Actually, I wasn't aware of all the dirty deeds they were up to. I was aware that the sanctions imposed on the Iraqis really created a lot of hardships for them.

Good points, all.

Welcome to the DU, by the way:smoke:

[paulk]

8. what would have been your alternative

for dealing with Iraq during the Clinton years?

[Spoonerian]

9. "Deal" with Iraq?

Do you mean besides promising to bring to justice those who planned and executed Colin Powell's Highway of Death massacre? Perhaps you're referring to the fact that the issue of war crimes against Iraq needed to be dealt with and reparations offered regarding the US's bombing of water treatment and sewage facilities and the resulting death and disease.

I'm listening to Greg Palast right now on Sirus Left's Mike Feder. He's talking about how James Baker, OPEC, and Big Oil believed that Hussein needed to be dealt with because he was "jerking" the oil markets and could have single-handedly destroyed the OPEC/Big Oil cartel if he wanted to. Is this why you believe Iraq needed to be dealt with?

Why do you assume that Iraq or any other country must be "dealt" with? What's wrong with the US facing up to its crimes, begging forgiveness from its victims, and pledging to re-pay its victims until they're sufficiently compensated?

[paulk]

10. what I expected

are you really whacko fringe leftist

or just a troll pretending to be one?

[Spoonerian]

11. By calling for the US

to take responsibility for bombing water treatment and sewage plants, I clearly am fringe and wacko by any statistical measure of the current US population. I'm certainly not a "leftist," although most "rightists" and moderates that I deal with call me that. In their narrow minds I must be a "leftist."

I suppose it would also stand to reason then, that self-described "leftists" would consider the idea of taking responsibility for one's mass murders some sort of right-wing parody of left-ism. I guess the idea of paying for one's crimes frightens United States of Americans up and down the spectrum.

[paulk]

12. with a world view is as narrow and blinkered

as any right winger's, you make the left look like a bunch of nutjobs with your constant stream of hate America first - blame America for everything that's wrong with the world brand of self loathing. The world is a big place, filled with lots of people, some of whom aren't very nice.

Grow up and do some critical thinking.

[Demeter]

5. It Wasn't Planned At All

Who needs plans when you have Faith and God is on Your Side?