highnote
08-08-2005, 01:15 AM
Let's me preface this by saying that I'm not an expert in warfare or international politics. Basically, I took a political science course in college and since then I've read two related books. Those two books are "The Prince" by Machievelli and "The Art of War" by that Chinese cat whose name escapes me.
I find these topics interesting, so in thinking about them, this idea dawned on me -- "What I would have done if I was Saddam."
First, given the ferociousness of the insurgents and the insaneness of the suicide bombers, if I was Saddam, out of necessity, I, too, probably would have ruled with an iron hand. As Machievelli said, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if you can't be both." I think it is impossible for any leader of Iraq to be loved. Given the situation between the Shiites and the Sunnis what choice did Saddam have but to be ruthless. Now, I'm not saying I could be ruthless like Saddam, but maybe he had no choice if he wanted to stay in power.
I suppose he could have tried to have been a "uniter", but it seems a longshot that that would have worked. Maybe it would have -- any ideas on how he could have done it?
Second, when the U.S. coalition was demanding that Saddam open up to inspections or else risk an attack, if I was Saddam, I would have let them search everywhere with full access. As that Chinese author of "The Art of War" said (and I paraphrase) it is better to retreat and live to fight another day.
Saddam could have backed off. As a result he would have still been in power. I thought this was a major blunder on his part. Maybe he was just tired of all the hassles. He could not have believed he could thwart the U.S. Armed Forces given his experience in the first Gulf War. It will be interesting to find out his fate.
Any thoughts on how you would have handled the situation if you would have been in Saddam's shoes?
I find these topics interesting, so in thinking about them, this idea dawned on me -- "What I would have done if I was Saddam."
First, given the ferociousness of the insurgents and the insaneness of the suicide bombers, if I was Saddam, out of necessity, I, too, probably would have ruled with an iron hand. As Machievelli said, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if you can't be both." I think it is impossible for any leader of Iraq to be loved. Given the situation between the Shiites and the Sunnis what choice did Saddam have but to be ruthless. Now, I'm not saying I could be ruthless like Saddam, but maybe he had no choice if he wanted to stay in power.
I suppose he could have tried to have been a "uniter", but it seems a longshot that that would have worked. Maybe it would have -- any ideas on how he could have done it?
Second, when the U.S. coalition was demanding that Saddam open up to inspections or else risk an attack, if I was Saddam, I would have let them search everywhere with full access. As that Chinese author of "The Art of War" said (and I paraphrase) it is better to retreat and live to fight another day.
Saddam could have backed off. As a result he would have still been in power. I thought this was a major blunder on his part. Maybe he was just tired of all the hassles. He could not have believed he could thwart the U.S. Armed Forces given his experience in the first Gulf War. It will be interesting to find out his fate.
Any thoughts on how you would have handled the situation if you would have been in Saddam's shoes?