:: Netmarcos' Notes ::

:: Thursday, April 10, 2003 ::

And then there is this:
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who opposed the war, was reported as saying he welcomed the sights from Baghdad as it was a sign that the conflict would be over soon.
CNN's Stephanie Halasz in Berlin said: "The overwhelming feeling among Germans was one of skepticism.
"How is the future of Iraq going to square up? Are the Iraqis capable of forming a democracy? And there is concern about those Iraqis who have died or who are injured."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am nauseated by the constant grumbling from European leaders and intellectuals that the Iraqi people may not be capable of living under a democratic government. The arrogance and prejudice of these statements is appalling. Are we to understand from this question that they believe that the Iraqi people are too feeble minded or childish to make their own decisions? That they are somehow mentally inferior to the grand European masses? The truth is the opposite. They fear that the Iraqis are all too capable of self-governance. They do not want to see a free and democratic Iraq. The Baathist regime gave them a simple, single point of contact and control to better serve their purposes. It will be increasingly difficult to exploit the populace and resources of Iraq as the people of Iraq gain control. With Saddam in power, all that was needed was to convince Saddam that the deal you were offering would benefit him, and that could be done in private, out of the view of the rest of the world. In a free Iraq, such arrangements will be subject to some degree of public review and open discussion.

The truth of this can be found at the end of this article.

Chirac, Schroeder and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are to meet this weekend to discuss a post-war Iraq, with the likely emphasis on pushing for an increased U.N. role.
Italy's La Repubblica criticized the anti-war grouping, saying in an editorial: "The battle lines are drawn and this time the countries that opposed the coalition war are ready to muscle in and demand a piece of the Iraqi pie."


Indeed.

:: Mark 10:53 AM [+] ::
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