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Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Think about what you're saying. The only reason governments are negotiating to "cancel" Iraq's debts is because the debts are owed by the nation, not just by Hussein, and the nation is still on the hook.
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You switch from justice to legalism way fast, kemo sabe. They are legal debts that are being cancelled on the basis of the moral-based theory of "odious debt".
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I understand your rationale, but it doesn't have anything to do with what the court decided or what our own government is saying in this case. Those soldiers were not tortured by a private conspiracy. They were tortured by agents of the Iraqi government.
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And that government is dead and gone - replaced by force in a war that rescued the people of Iraq. To make Saddam's other victims pay for this, or for France's architects for their torture-chamber designs, or for Russia's arms used to kill the Kurds, is to value legalism over morality. I can see making Iraqis pay for the debts incurred through the purchase of food while SH was in charge. I can't see making them pay for the bullets that killed them (and which were sold to SH knowingly), and I also can't see making them pay court-ordered millions to some select few other victims of SH while they, also victims, still need basics. Ask your Senator to sponser a bill rewarding them somewhow.
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And subordinating those debts in the way that our own government has advocated sends a pretty clear message that opposing torture is not its highest concern.
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You're really reaching for this connection, aren't you?
