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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 03:48:54 CST
From:         Titivillus <T9AA@SDSUMUS.SDSTATE.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Bushwhacking Saddam
Comments: To: POLITICS@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu

> >        If you seriously believe that there was not a Nintendo side of the wa
> >in the Gulf, then why did the military keep the pres in the Press [cess] Pool
> >with out the ability to go and really find out what was happening in Iraq. Th
>
>         This can not be considered a "nintendo" tactic, merely sane military
> thinking.  The last think I'd want (as a military officer) is some fool
> cameraperson flashing their lights on me as I land on the beach (witness
> Somalia).

Again, that was a brokered press event. WOM would not have spread
a scoop that big to that many people.

>         I think the CBS broadcaster (the one who was captured) learned why
> journalists should not go tromping around on their own.

I'm a journalism student, and a semi-pro journalist ($10 a story- big
whoop) and if I was on deadline and in Saudi, I'd probably do something
similar. It's the nature of the business.

> >muzzling of the press in the way that it occured was designed to dehumanise t
> >suffering of the Iraqis and the fact that smart bombs were not that good and
> >that they were not the majority of the munitions dropped over Iraq.

>         The Iraqis suffering was only a little less apparent than the sufferin
> of the Kuwaitis.  Nor was the suffering of the Iraqis our concern.  Nor was th
> suffering of the Germans, Italians, or Japanese during WWII.
>         In fact, the suffering of aggressors, is IMO, a good thing.

Well, yes and no. Having the top brass of the Ba'athist party suffer?
I'll sign up. Having the soldiers suffer? Except for German soldiers
in Nuremburg, 1945, all soldiers are expected to follow orders to the
best of their ability. Therefore, even though the invasion of Kuwait
was not their idea, the soldiers of Iraq are due some suffering. Given
the choice, I'd still rather nail a party official.

But when we get to the people of Iraq, whose only fault is following
a totalitarian ruler who has bombs and guns and planes, when they
only had shovels and rakes and implements of (minor) destruction -
well, war is hell. However, a civilian population is not considered
an allowable target by "gentleman's rules," and if we are trying to
convince ourselves that this is a Just War, than we would have to
play by gentleman's rules.

We inflicted about 100,000 civilian casualties above and beyond
those rules.

>         As far as smart bombs go, they were not a majority because B-52s do no
> drop smart bombs.  But don't make the mistake of thinking that B-52s ran
> bombing runs over Baghdad.

Depends on how "Smart" you are dealing with. Even the "dumb bombs"
the B-52 dropped in Vietnam to create an Arclight were dropped tight
enough to rob you of oxygen, even if fire and shrapnel missed you.

Even the dumb bombs had a fairly bad rating, considering what is> Brett'
possible.

> Brett'

Dave
t9aa@sdsumus.sdstate.edu
I belong the _____ generation, but
I can take it or leave it each time
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