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Feb. 8th, 2003
Interesting times...
Feb. 8th, 2003 09:20 pmIt looks like the French and Germans might be cooking up a alternative "plan" to seriously beef up the number of inspectors in Iraq, and to back them up with UN troops.
Given the UN's dismal record in hostile environments - UN troops standing by in Bosnia while Bosnian Muslims were massacred; UN troops standing by in Rwanda while genocide took place; UN inspectors sitting on their butts while an Iraqi screaming "Save me!" apparently tries to defect and is permitted to be dragged away by Iraqi soldiers - it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what would happen the first time an inspection team was firmly denied access to a facility by armed personnel, or fired upon.
I've heard a figure of 30,000 troops bandied about, whose purpose would be to help disarm Iraq. Nice work, if you can get it, especially when you figure the Iraqi Republican Guard would have the UN forces outnumbered about 8 to 1. (I guess that's why U.S. participation "in the background" is mentioned, too... seems like the French and Germans aren't opposed to military operations, as long as Uncle Sugar's around to bail 'em out.)
(Of course, the idea of turning troops into "inspectors" is interesting. I wonder how the guys in the 101st Airborne would take to being "inspectors"?)
The Franco-German plan might work if the Iraqis cooperated completely with the idea of inspections, but given the Iraqi record of the past 12 years, that is not a real possibility.
Side note: The reports I've read indicate that the U.S. was well-and-truly blindsided by this initiative. Now, I'm not privy to what U.S. intelligence services get wind of, but if Rumsfeld really did find out about this first from the German media, then our intelligence services really are in a pickle.
* * * The translation for Monday is finished (except for the review, which I feel good about). I haven't even checked incoming faxes to see if I've received the item due Wednesday afternoon, and I won't - at least not until tomorrow afternoon.
* * * Drew and I started to crate the rack of antlers that need to be shipped, but we only got part of the way there (he brought Huntur, who started crying for her mommy again... what that is all about pretty much beats me). Galina went over to their house a little while ago, leaving me to finish the translation and rest.
Big morning tomorrow.
Cheers...
Given the UN's dismal record in hostile environments - UN troops standing by in Bosnia while Bosnian Muslims were massacred; UN troops standing by in Rwanda while genocide took place; UN inspectors sitting on their butts while an Iraqi screaming "Save me!" apparently tries to defect and is permitted to be dragged away by Iraqi soldiers - it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what would happen the first time an inspection team was firmly denied access to a facility by armed personnel, or fired upon.
I've heard a figure of 30,000 troops bandied about, whose purpose would be to help disarm Iraq. Nice work, if you can get it, especially when you figure the Iraqi Republican Guard would have the UN forces outnumbered about 8 to 1. (I guess that's why U.S. participation "in the background" is mentioned, too... seems like the French and Germans aren't opposed to military operations, as long as Uncle Sugar's around to bail 'em out.)
(Of course, the idea of turning troops into "inspectors" is interesting. I wonder how the guys in the 101st Airborne would take to being "inspectors"?)
The Franco-German plan might work if the Iraqis cooperated completely with the idea of inspections, but given the Iraqi record of the past 12 years, that is not a real possibility.
Side note: The reports I've read indicate that the U.S. was well-and-truly blindsided by this initiative. Now, I'm not privy to what U.S. intelligence services get wind of, but if Rumsfeld really did find out about this first from the German media, then our intelligence services really are in a pickle.
Big morning tomorrow.
Cheers...