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| Next Stop - Baghdad | |
The peace demonstrators
have failed. Consummate politician
Johnny (of-course-I-want-peace) Howard has worked out a way to satisfy the war-mongers and peace-niks at the
same time. The peace-niks don't want to him to declare war - he hasn't. The
war-mongers don't want to get left out of the Baghdad Blitzkrieg - they
won't. Australian troops
leave for the Gulf tomorrow to join the US led Iraqi invasion. It might seem a little premature to send people to a war that hasn't yet been
declared, but just because they made up their minds, doesn't mean they can't
invade Baghdad. Why? Well, George Dubya is sick of the fiasco: asking for more time,
changing the rules mid-stream, deceiving, playing political games. And that's
just the UN! Imagine
how cross he is with Saddam! And why now? Well the war may start on February 1 - when there is no moon,
and the Australian SAS will be really cut if they get there too late to join
it. Unlike parties, it's not fashionable to turn up late for wars. Some
armchair generals are tipping the third week of February, but the Iraqi desert
starts getting warm that time of year and wearing those stuffy chemical warfare
suits in the heat would drive up the deodorant bills. The mounting pressure may succeed in making Saddam's inner circle of
psychopaths to quit the country to avoid unnecessary blood-shed, but the power vacuum could create a
blood-bath in itself. This is the Middle East, and regime
changes tend to be a little more dramatic than the boring concession and
victory speeches we see in the free world. Smart Iraqis will be hoping for a US-puppet government, but the
majority - influenced by the persistent organized propaganda and cultural hatred of success -
hate the US nearly as much as Saddam. The US will be unpopular guests even in a
liberated Iraq, and any government likely to replace Saddam will not be very
friendly. A decision which would truly test Dubya's mettle is whether to go into a
Saddam-less Iraq. Maybe he hasn't thought that far ahead? Whatever - Let's roll!
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