Quote:
Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
I remember that assassination, I remember some discussion here, and I remember thinking the assassination was probably a good move -- though a bit risky. It may be that I misremember, and that many "Liberals" were "shocked," but I seem to recall that -- to the extent there was criticism it focused more on the cost/benefit risk/reward analysis for our foreign policy rather than the idea that Abdul Terrorist Roaming Free in Foreign Nation deserved due process.
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I agree that the reaction in the US ranged from outright praise to fairly muted protest. But, more germane to this discussion, the reaction in Europe was complete outrage at our extrajudicial murder of these untried gentlemen. And the point here is, that outrage would have had a very bad affect on efforts to sway European opinion in the UN. That was the relevant audience - and that same audience would have seen an attack on elements inside of Iraq as a huge escalation prior to securing their blessings.
Knowing what we know now about the profit motives of some of Old Europe, we should have gone ahead and hit him anyway, as no approval would have ever been forthcoming absent a huge payment to them from us. But, that's hindsight, from an era when we had more trust in the process and the participants.
