Saddam or Gates?

Saddam or Gates?

Posted Apr 14, 2003 21:53 UTC (Mon) by Peter (guest, #1127)
In reply to: Saddam or Gates? by coriordan
Parent article: Friend or foe? (Economist)

Saddam doesn't fund American election campaigns (read as: buy laws)

So, I guess in your world the Iraqi government is more democratic and sensitive to the needs of the common man than the American government, then? Pardon my saying so, but that's pretty funny.

Saddam doesn't gather information on the majority of American computer users (all MS Windows users).

Yeah, maybe not. In my opinion there are quite a few worse sins in the world than underhandedly collecting information on your customers, but hey, whatever.

Saddam doesn't try to convince India to make a no-Free-Software government policy. I view this as a terrible human rights abuse.

Yeah, terrible. (To quote Ciaran O'Riordan, "You're breaking my heart.") Trying to convince someone to buy your products. Not at gunpoint or anything, mind you, just talking, and promising things like price cuts or maybe some foreign investment. Somehow to me it still seems a bit tame compared to, say, launching SCUDs at civilian targets. Maybe I'm just confused.

Saddam doesn't have a monopoly on a key part of the American infrastructure.

As a member of OPEC, though, he does control part of an oligopoly on a key part of American infrastructure. While I (unlike most armchair foreign policy experts) think oil is not really much of an issue in the Saddam question, it does correspond fairly well to your point.

They bend every rule possible to abuse temporary workers. (workers who don't have any other job choice because of the economy.)

I guess I must have missed hearing about all the Microsoft temporary workers saying "Oh, when will the suffering end? I wish I were in an Iraqi prison cell instead."

Saddam had to go but bloody hell, America's war was a farce, and the situation they've created is going to suck Big Time.

Hmmm. Interesting view - but if Saddam "had to go", how would you have gone about accomplishing this? Maybe ask him to please step down? Maybe tell him that if he peacefully surrenders, we'll give Iraq lots of free copies of MS Windows XP?

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