On Tuesday, February 11, 2003, at 11:24 AM, Ken Hirsch wrote:

> Arthur Frank writes:
>
>>>> Ken Hirsch <[log in to unmask]> 02/11/03 08:24AM >>>
>>> The U.S. never gave or sold any weapons to Saddam.
>
>> I've heard this claim more than once.  I've read otherwise:
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52241-2002Dec29.html
>> http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=2766
>> http://www.counterpunch.org/boles1010.html
>
> The facts have been known since the early 1990s.  Iraq bought billions
> and
> billions of dollars worth of SOVIET and FRENCH arms, and a few from
> other
> countries such as South Africa.   Iraq bought "dual use" items from
> several
> western firms, mostly German, but also American, French, British,
> Dutch,
> etc.
>
> No matter how often the lie is repeated that America "armed Iraq" it
> still
> isn't true.
>
> But exactly what is the point of this, anyway?  One might think that it
> would cast some doubt on the motives of the French, the Germans, and
> the
> Russians in their current opposition to war, but no, apparently it
> somehow
> reflects badly only on the U.S.  I don't get it.  Please explain it to
> me.

I'll try. It appears that we were the only ones that provided
assistance to Iraq during their war with Iran. Whether this was a good
thing or a bad thing, I simply don't know. I would guess that most of
the world's resentment of us is that we try to control so many nations
all over the world.
That, coupled with the fact that some of them we treat like "favored"
nations and others we treat as "unfavored". In the eyes of most of the
world, much of which isn't necessarily sophisticated,
we appear to be bullies, like cops and much like previous empires of
memory.

Very few people of underprivileged areas like cops.

Hope this provides a different (not necessarily correct) perspective.

FW

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