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From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Myths destroyed
Message-ID: <1291@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Dec-84 17:53:34 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.1291
Posted: Tue Dec 18 17:53:34 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Dec-84 00:48:05 EST
References: <646@ihopb.UUCP> 
Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 34
Summary: 



In respect of the Iranian plan-highjacking...
>    Also, Andy, what was Reagan supposed to do?  With people like you, he's
>    in a no-win situation.  Who were we supposed to bomb/invade/arrest?
>    If he takes some action, you're all over him for being a trigger-happy,
>    militarist, imperialist cowboy, and if he doesn't then you use that as
>    evidence that he's really just a wimpy paper tiger.  Tell me, Andy,
>    what was Reagan SUPPOSED to do?  What could he have done that you
>    WOULDN'T have criticized him for???
>
>                                                --- das

Just about what he did!  I don't know how many US citizens were on that
plane, but if I remember rightly, it was a Kuwaiti plane highjacked by
Iranians to Iran.  Kuwait might have had some complaint demanding action,
but there was not much call for the US to be big policeman.  US citizens
are abducted and killed by terrorists in lots of countries, and the
usual (and appropriate) response is to help the local authorities to
deal with the situation.  Granted, that's a bit difficult in Iran, but
there's not a great deal else to do.  Suppose there were Russians and
New Zealanders on the plane as well.  Would anybody have been happy if
three groups of commandos appeared at the airport demanding turns at
storming the plane?  Would anyone have been happy if US commandos had
caused the death of Russians and New Zealanders?

The great evil that Reagan has been guilty of is that he has brought
instant force to a position of "respectability" as a first response
to a disagreement.  One should commend him for moderating that tendency.
-- 

Martin Taylor
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