Xref: utzoo talk.politics.misc:64885 trial.talk.politics.peace:73 alt.desert-storm:10631 Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!shelby!neon!Neon!jmc From: jmc@DEC-Lite.Stanford.EDU (John McCarthy) Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,trial.talk.politics.peace,alt.conspiracy,alt.desert-storm Subject: Re: Reparations Message-ID: Date: 3 Mar 91 22:15:22 GMT References: <9103022221.28338@mydog.UUCP> Sender: news@Neon.Stanford.EDU (USENET News System) Organization: /u/jmc/.organization Lines: 35 In-Reply-To: gcf@mydog.UUCP's message of 3 Mar 91 03:21:14 GMT In article <9103022221.28338@mydog.UUCP> gcf@mydog.UUCP (Gordon Fitch) writes: As you all know, there has been a lot of talk about making Iraq pay reparations. Various figures like "80 billion" float around. Meanwhile, Iraq is devastated, and U.N. sanctions are still in effect with no end in sight. It seems to me that, long ago, I heard the story of another nation that was defeated in war. It, too, was devastated and blockaded; and it was made to pay considerable reparations. This turned out to have been a bad thing to do -- a very, very bad thing to do, according to the common wisdom of my boyhood. The vindictiveness of those who had exacted reparations was turned around on their countries a hundredfold. The common wisdom said that the ordinary people should not be punished for the evil of their leaders; that they should be shown that there was a respectable and constructive place for them in the world. Because this was done, and it was a success. There was an end, pretty much, to the cycle of vengeance and hatred. I don't want to say our leaders are foolish. They do know how to fight a war, at least against a country ten times smaller than the U.S. But I do think they ought to think this reparations stuff over pretty carefully. It does not have a good record at all. Gordon Fitch | gcf@mydog.uucp | uunet.uu.net!cmcl2.nyu.edu!panix!mydog!gcf If Iraq's oil production is restored, then at $20 per barrel, Iraq will have an oil income of $17 billion per year. You are talking about a mere five years oil income - or 10 years at half the oil income. It's quite doable. There won't be much left to buy more T-72s though.