February 9, 2003
ENTENTE VILE:
Rumsfeld interview: 'We will defy Paris and Berlin. They will be judged by their people' (Robert Thomson, February 10, 2003, Times of London)Q. What is the plan for Iraq after war?A. [...] My guess is that it would be like the bicycle. The Iraqis would figure out a uniquely Iraqi solution and the coalition forces would get the weapons of mass destruction out and make sure the systems were working. The country has a highly educated population. They are intelligent. They are industrious. They have got oil, and the oil in that country is the Iraq people’s oil. Unlike Afghanistan, they have resources.
There are a lot of people prepared, in the event force is used, or in the event that he flees, which is my first choice. Goodness knows, the first choice has to be a solution that allows the international community to get in there and deal with the weapons of mass destruction. The only way that is going to happen is if he is gone, and the preferable way to get him gone is for him to go.
Q. Could you promise him an amnesty?
A. The country that receives him could promise not to extradite him. I am sure there are plenty of countries that would have him. I am not a lawyer, but my impression is that there clearly would be a country that would try demand it (extradition) but if he goes to a country that agrees before the fact not to extradite him, then he is fine. There are plenty of people like that around the world ... Idi Amin Dada is in Saudi Arabia ... “Baby Doc” Duvalier is in France. [...]
Q. What about the Nato conflict over Turkey?
A. Nato will survive, but if the partners announce what they are intending to do (if France, Germany and Belgium block the transfer of defensive equipment) ... they will be judged by their own people and they'll be judged by other Nato countries. I think it’s a shame because Turkey is an important country ... my guess is that Turkey will survive. It will work with other countries in Nato. It would be such a surprising and breathtaking event that I suspect it would reverberate for a while.
That implication, that France is a suitable home for retired dictators, is a nice touch. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 9, 2003 6:25 PM
Rumsfeld assumes Iraq forms some sort of
natural state, which is fantasy.
Why, for example, would Iraq's Kurds be willing
to participate in a parliamentary system where
their status would be permanent irrelevance?
And not-so-retired dictators---e.g., the Ayatollah Khomeini---which ought, perhaps, give one pause....
Posted by: Barry Meislin at February 10, 2003 4:03 AMHarry;
You mean like the splinter parties in the Israeli Knesset?
But I find your basic premise flawed, that there is no governmental structure that makes it worth while for a distinct ethnic group to be part of a larger state. Do you see every nation except the US destined to break up along ethnic boundaries?
AOG/Harry:
You're both right: it is going to happen but it's a bad idea and an inheritance from the racist Woodrwow Wilson.