I’m off

We’ll miss you!

Greetings, Segacs. I hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Upon your return, however, I wonder if you could give us your opinion on the situation in Iraq currently. It has come to light that both the Bush and Blair administrations knew that the evidence they were presenting about the existence of WMDs were utter fabrications.

The weapons– the main pretext for the war– have not and probably will not be found for the simple reason that they do not exist. I wonder if you could address that problem in light of your previous comments on the issue.

Secondly, in regards to the human rights of the Iraqi people, what do you think of the current US administration in Iraq? Do you think the Americans have a coherent exit strategy? It seems that there is a low-level guerilla war happening right now, despite all assurances that everything is under control. Are you still of the opinion that the war was justified?

In a more general light, do you think that human rights violations by a nation-state within its own borders is a justifiable pretext for foreign invasion? If so, what is your opinion on the African situation? Should the West intervene?

And finally, what do you think of the projected 400 billion dollar deficit for 2003 in the US? It seems to be a standard feature of Republican administrations to run immense deficits, despite their talk of ‘small’ government (Reagan also ran up huge deficits in the name of ‘national security’). Do you think that the aftermath of 9/11 is entirely responsible for this? Is the increased military spending justified? What do you think of Bush’s economic policies?

I look forward to your thoughts on these issues.

iopha