2002- Wasted Year

GePap · February 23, 2003, 13:17

Filling in my thread quota:

I find it incredible, in a sense, that we are already in 2003. Wasn't 2002 supposed to be more important than it was? Much ahppedn in 2000, certainly 2001, and then came 2002, blah.

Now, of course, this will be an Iraq thread, so lets get on with it. This admin. could have made 2002 the showcase years for its new "crusade for democracy", but instead of creating a better place for themselevs, they have made a mess of things. When people argue that Saddam is better than you, you know you have screwed up.

So, what could have been? Lets say we go back to the day before the 2002 Sates of the Union speech, just a few weeks after Kabul is liberated form the Taliban. A good time, no? Then comes Axis of Evil.. then, durign the summer, talk of unilateral invasion of Iraq, and then up to today. Now lets imagine a different speech. What if, that day, intead of more "with us or against us, good vs evil" rhetoric, Bush ahd come out and said somehting along the lines of: Democracy is the greatest weapons we have against fundamentalism, and it should be our aim to, along with our allies and fellow democracies, to spread this value, and to confront those that stiffle freedom as a single united democractic front against fundamentalism and Authocracy. Perhaps then, the admin. could have quadrupled our forces in Afghniastan and gotten similar coomitment form allies, disarmed warlords, and made our experience in Afghanbistan a working model of what the US can do. Then come late spring, the admin. could ahve begun high level talks with Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, Madrid, Tokyo and so forth in tryoing to coax, convince, and then come up aith a united policy and publicity campaign to rally the world as one aaginst Saddam Hussein.
If only things had gone this way, we would have no big NATO split, no shooting back and forth in the EU, no mass anti-war rallies, and far less Iraq threads in Poly. Back in 2002 this admin. had plenty of good will and high times, with the opportunity to really rise aboev the fray. BUt perhaps this sort of policy would have been too much to epxect from the Bush admin.

Felch · February 23, 2003, 13:38

When people argue that Saddam is better than you, you know they're full of ****.

monkspider · February 23, 2003, 14:59

I agree with you completely Ge.

Shi Huangdi · February 23, 2003, 15:05

It wasn't a wasted year. We got a Republican majority back in the Senate.

MRT144 · February 23, 2003, 15:18

you assume that was a good thing shi?
i never thought you a subscriber to partisan politics shi

Hobbes · February 23, 2003, 16:06

Republicans are losers. Everyone knows it, but are too PC to say it. You may think they have good ideas, or whatnot, but they are losers. Who wants a country run by losers? That's right, no one.

DinoDoc · February 23, 2003, 16:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Hobbes
Who wants a country run by losers? That's right, no one.

How do we explain Canada if this is the case?

germanos · February 23, 2003, 17:03

It's only a wasted year if you think US style democracy and capitalism are a blessing to the world. (Like Bush)

If you think differently, 2002 wasn't such a bad year, and better ones are in front of you.

2002 will be a mark in world's history when we are old, and we may well tell our children how it came about that the Hegemon managed to loose practically all it's support after 9-11, and turn it into mass opposition against its policies.
Actually, that is quite an achievement, Mr. Bush.

Nubclear · February 23, 2003, 17:07

Quote:

Originally posted by germanos
It's only a wasted year if you think US style democracy and capitalism are a blessing to the world. (Like Bush)

If you think differently, 2002 wasn't such a bad year, and better ones are in front of you.

2002 will be a mark in world's history when we are old, and we may well tell our children how it came about that the Hegemon managed to loose practically all it's support after 9-11, and turn it into mass opposition against its policies.
Actually, that is quite an achievement, Mr. Bush.

He's right when he says hes a uniter, not a divider

MRT144 · February 23, 2003, 17:09

man, that has got to be the biggest lie ever!

"im a uniter, not a divider"
"youre either with us or youre with the terrorists"

Oerdin · February 23, 2003, 17:26

I didn't waste the year; I made more in 2002 then ever before in my life. That doesn't say much but still I graduated from college (FINALLY!!) and I jumped into middle class America.

MRT144 · February 23, 2003, 17:31

good job oerdin! i made more than i ever did this year also and jumped into sub poor america.

Imran Siddiqui · February 23, 2003, 17:35

GePap, totally disagree. A 'we should overthrow non-democratic governmernts' speech would have been accepted even WORSE than the one Bush made. It would have been derided as idiotically idealist.

monkspider · February 23, 2003, 17:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
GePap, totally disagree. A 'we should overthrow non-democratic governmernts' speech would have been accepted even WORSE than the one Bush made. It would have been derided as idiotically idealist.

Imran- I don't think any speech could be recieved any worse than the infamous "Axis of Evil" speech, a speech that angered nearly the entire world. Gegap's proposed speech may have been ridiculed, but it wouldn't have caused any notable outrage.

MRT144 · February 23, 2003, 17:46

it would have at least been more honest.

Hobbes · February 23, 2003, 18:48

Quote:

How do we explain Canada if this is the case?

Hosers, perhaps, but not losers. Our leaders don't have enough personality to be losers.