In Fact...

This article appeared in the November 11, 2002 edition of The Nation.

October 24, 2002

THAT WAS THEN...

For those arguing against going to war against Iraq, here is some additional ammunition that is particularly relevant to the too-little-discussed question of what happens after we do the "regime change." The source here is quite a high-level one and, as you can see, thoughtful as well: "If you're going to go in and try to topple Saddam Hussein, you have to go to Baghdad. Once you've got Baghdad, it's not clear what you do with it. It's not clear what kind of government you would put in place of the one that's currently there now. Is it going to be a Shia regime, a Sunni regime or a Kurdish regime? Or one that tilts toward the Baathists, or one that tilts toward the Islamic fundamentalists? How much credibility is that government going to have if it's set up by the United States military when it's there? How long does the United States military have to stay to protect the people that sign on for that government, and what happens to it once we leave?" Our authority: Dick Cheney, quoted in a New York Times interview, which appeared on April 13, 1991, a bit more than a month after the Gulf War ended.

AWARD TO SOREL

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