War Reading

The captain of USS Clueless talks about our preparations for Iraq. In it he notes the resounding European opposition of our plans. Indeed, a vast majority of people in the world disagree with this plan...

The vast majority of the people of the world live in nations which do not permit free exercise of religion, free speech, free press or the right of the people to publicly criticize their governments. Does that mean that the US should repeal the First Amendment?

In it he links to his own detailed analysis of how a war with Iraq would go.

And for geographic half-wits such as myself, make sure you refer to a map of the Middle East, and one of Iraq. I tend to forget how the puzzle pieces connect up over there, and what colors they paint each country.

den Beste's most-chilling analysis comes when he talks about the last stages of the war...

Eventually the Iraqi forces are broken and they begin to withdraw, and this is the point of maximum danger. This is where Hussein pulls out his chemical weapons and uses them.

Then what?

Chemical weapons are particularly advantageous from the Iraqi point of view because they make for good TV. They are a horrifying weapon, and those who are not killed by them are maimed. Given that the war will be won or lost in American living rooms, a chemical attack is the best weapon Iraq has.

American response at this point is a serious concern. Doctrine is to respond to the use of chemical weapons with tactical nuclear weapons, and I think there's a good chance that it would happen. There is virtually no chance that we would use them against population centers, but some military formations out in the desert would get nuked. The best chance is that this would be a tit-for-tat response (one for one) but it raises holy hell internationally when it happens. "While we don't condone the Iraqi use of chemical weapons, nonetheless..." You've already seen this logic in the aftermath of the September attack: it's water under the bridge and you cannot use nukes even if your own forces are being slaughtered. If there was any coalition of European forces involved, this ends it. (Which is the biggest reason why the United States probably won't let them be involved.)

Ultimately, however, that decision would be made in American living rooms. And if the WTC attacks enraged Americans, a chemical attack on US servicemen would make that rage white hot. So I think a limited nuclear response is inevitable.

Oh.

We've created this mess and we have a responsibility to clean up. And yes, we'll be reviled for decades, but we have to act in loco parentis in this situation. And as all parents know, sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions for the right reasons.

In the spirit of Glenn Reynolds, I'll ask the question: If we thought like Iraqis, what would things like for Iraqis?   

If we thought like Arabs...

What would things be like for Palestinians now, if Israelis or Americans thought like Arabs?

They wouldn't be like anything at all, of course. There wouldn't be any Palestinians.

via Dave Winer