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Iraq wants to join the NATO! The senior advisor in the Iraqi defense ministry Mohammed al-Askari told the press today that the ministry is looking forward to seeing Iraq become a member of the NATO and that the minister Sa'doun al-Dulaimi, the chief of staff and the higher commanders are planning to propose this plan to the new government once it's seated. Al-Askari told al-Hurra TV tonight that the chief commanders in the ministry had been discussing this subject with great interest for a long time and that:If al-Dulaimi gets a second term he will be working hard to convince the parliament about the necessity of joining the NATO as this falls in Iraq's strategic interests….the recent changes in the Middle East region and Iran's intentions to pursue nuclear weapons is encouraging us to move in this direction. From a strategic perspective Iraq being a member of NATO is a win/win for the United States. Some have said that NATO is essentially a United States organization; a way for the United States to arm an International Military, but with the fig leaf of international respectability. (This observation comes form the fact that 97% of the troops under NATO jurisdiction are American.) That Iraq is exploring this possibility means two things. First, there are some in Iraq who see enough pride in Iraq as a country that they wish to have an outlet to show this pride--and contributing troops to international peace keeping missions is an extremely healthy source of national pride. Patriotism is a self-enforcing thing: the more outlets for patriotism there are, the more patriotic people are. And the more patriotic people are, the more outlets they will seek. And a Patriotic Iraq is an Iraq who will overcome the differences between different cultural groups, and will move faster towards Democratic cooperation and away from aristocratic civil war. Second, that Iraq is exploring this possibility means Iraq is seeking ways to keep the United States involved in its internal security. One thing membership in NATO would do is trigger an automatic response in the case of an external attack: an attack on one NATO state would be considered an attack on all states. Meaning the United States would respond if Iraq was attacked with military force. Given the number of wars that have occured in that region, and given the nuclear ambitions of Iran (whose "crazy" president is probably crazy like a fox: he has been threatening the west to keep the west off balance, but his real goals may be more pedestrian--the recreation of a Persian empire whose borders recreate it's ancient greatness. posted by William Woody at 10:12 AM  
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A moderate conservative living in the left coast, surrounded by the sureal, wonders if there is a sane life living amongst those who have lost touch with reality. • View ProfileRecent Items: • Four out of five. • A Political Quiz I forgot about • Joy. • Stupidity • Some random cartoons • I'm going to hell for this. • Three types of people. • Food For Thought • On Politics • Less famous lines from our Declaration of Independ... 
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