but the right wing fanatical Republicans were the ones who were screaming the loudest that he should be kept with his disfunctional family in Miami.
As a right wing radical republican myself, (although I maintain an independent registration) and one who was also born and raised in South Florida (born in Dade County and grew up in Broward County and was there for the start of the Cuban refugee influx in the early sixties), I was in total agreement with the Clinton Administration on returning Elian to his Father. That the return was fought against so hard was an embarrassment to me, since we also wish other nations to return the children kidnapped and spirited off to their countries by non-custodial parents of that country.
However, it did take government intervention for his return, did it not? Otherwise, the family in Miami could have and would have kept him.
However, to say that Saddam poses no threat to us is not entirely true. I posted articles showing Iraqi defectors claims of a training camp outside Baghdad for training terrorist. There are even satellite photos of this camp, with the 727 aircraft they use for training to take over aircraft, as stated by defectors. He is not only raping and slaughtering his own people, but has been shown to help terrorist, monetarily if no other way, and does indeed pose a threat to us. One of the articles I posted also claimed it was more him behind September 11 than Osama Bin Ladin and made a pretty good argument, I thought.
I also posted this article as we hear many times about the rallys being held to protect the Iraqi people, to prevent them from being murdered by the Americans. But, Saddam is murdering them by the droves and the same people wish all to turn a blind eye? The world turned pretty much a blind eye against Hitler too and we all know how that ended up.
No, I don't think deposing Saddam will cure all the troubles in the Middle East, but it could give it a bit more breathing space as they hopefully cure their ills themselves, if that is even possible. But, there has been a connection made between Saddam and international terrorism and that is a threat outside of his own country, one I feel needs dealt with before another September 11 happens here.
If not for the help from other nations in 1776, we would not have gotten our independence from England either.
As I keep saying, if the world community stood against Saddam and his quest for more weapons and maltreatment of his own people, as they do against Bush, he would see he has no choice but to back down and comply with the 17 UN resolutions against him. His compliance is necessary to avert war.
In closing, if the Iraqi peoples voices aren't worth listening to in this struggle, whose are? If truly anti-war, why is there absolutely no outcry against Saddam warring against his own people? The systematic murder of opposing thought inside Iraq is a war also.
