RC>Who not only served 20 years, but also lost a son and a
RC>cousin in Vietnam. 
 
          And we see immediately what happened.  After the Clinton
people left the beltway, saw that the people of the United States were
unprepared to support nonsensical attacks without purpose or objective,
they swapped ends and cut a deal with Iraq.  Anan's trip to Baghdad was
only considered a "formality with little hope of success" before Ohio.
After Ohio it became "a settlement we can live with".  
          Those few protestors who showed up and challanged the Clinton
policy, I beleive, had a profound effect and dramatically altered our
foreign policy.  Howe weak can the policies of an administration
become?
RC>An arrogance which, if anything, has stiffened the public's
RC>resistance to the proposed policy.
 
            I think the public was never considered in the
administration policy.  The administration took a poll, it said that
the American people felt Hussain was hiding weapons and that something
needed to be done to clear the way for the inspectors, and they just
assumed the usual "look like somethings being done" policy would work.
They never understood, until Ohio, that the American people wanted a
real resolution of the problem, not just and easy out like bombing
without some plan to achieve results. 
            Abnd they really still haven't caught on.  This "agreement"
does not achieve the desired end and as soon as it becomes evident that
Iraq is still not complying with the origional agreements people are
going to really get pissed at the administration.  The amature nature
of the administration with regard to foreign policy is becomming quite
obvious.  I guess we must make exceptions though...Arkansas had no
foreign policy and they just don't have experience in such things.
 
           I saw an interesting poll this weekend.  21% of the American
people trusted Sadaam Hussain when he said he no longer had chemical
and biological weapons.  19% trusted Clinton when he said he had no
improper relationship with Monica Lewinski.  Does this really mean the
American people think Sadaam Hussain is more trustworthy than Bill
Clinton?
 
RC>"The Beltway is NOT the heartland." needs to be tattooed on
RC>every bureaucrat's forehead.
  
            How about on the back of their hand?  They need to be able
to see it to remember.  Then again, we could print it backwards on
their foreheads.  I imagine most of these people spend a great deal of
time looking at themselves in the mirror.
 MA> Questions like "What's the objective?", "Will we have to do
 MA> this again every three months?", "How many civilian
 MA> casualties do you consider acceptable?", and "What moral
 MA> right do we have to attach the nation of Iraq?" caught
 MA> CLinton's people completely offguard. Their answers, and
 MA> the feeble attempts of the administration since to provide
 MA> answers, have fallen short. 
RC>They shouldn't have. After the emphasis on Weinberger's
RC>criteria 7 years ago, it's arrogance and incompetence on
RC>their part not to have those answers.
 
        I think they really anticipated those 79% approval poll ratings
to mean the people would accept anything.  After all, if they bought
Clinton's denial of an affair why wouldn't they buy this?  
RC>Yeah - but it's backfired on him. Sec-Gen Kofi Annan is
RC>getting all the credit for an expert, sophisticated
RC>diplomatic effort while the Dufus is being portrayed as an
RC>incompetent who couldn't prevail with either diplomacy or
RC>military threats. 
 
      Have you seen this agreement?  Most of it is dedicated to
generalizations such as " The United Nations agrees to respect the
soverignty of Iraq...The United Nations agrees to honor the territorial
integrity of Iraq...ect, ect, ect."  Look at that thing!  Who cut a
deal with who?
 MA> If anyone hasn't noticed yet, the aor raids have been
 MA> called off. Clinton hasn't announced it yet, the agreement
 MA> hasn't been made yet, but you can bet your booties, at this
 MA> point, it's all over but the spectacular breakthrough and
 MA> the surprising turn of events. 
RC>One that leaves everyone snickering at the Dufus' failure
RC>to do with threats what Annan accomplished in a single
RC>visit.
 
        Anan was under administration orders to get any kind of deal he
could...and it was a terrible deal.  The administration was deperate
and looking for a way out.  Anan was the only vehicle they had left and
they took it.  Before he left I said it was a done deal and whatever
Iraq offered he would take.  The administration had already decided
that it couldn't sustainan attack and was looking for a way out, any
way out.  Anan could have came back with a deal surrendering south
Florida to Iraq and Clinton would have took it.
RC>"The Emporer Has No Clothes" should be required reading
RC>prior to every trip outside of the Beltway.
 
       I wouldn;t give them any ideas...
         Anyway...Packwood tried that didn't he?
 
 
                                        Mike Angwin
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