micah holmquist's irregular thoughts and links |
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Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
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Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Saturday, September 28, 2002
Reuters is reporting: Turkish paramilitary police have seized more than 33 pounds of weapons-grade uranium and detained two men accused of smuggling the material, the state-run Anatolian news agency said on Saturday.And later: "Our investigation on whether the uranium was destined for a neighboring country is continuing," a Sanliurfa police official was quoted as saying by Anatolian.Nonetheless Glenn Reynolds assumes that Iraq is involved and writes: That's critical mass folks -- enough for a bomb all by itself. If this report holds up, it's a smoking gun. Not that we needed one, really, at this point, but. . . .Reynolds deserves credit for acknowledging that he doesn’t believe evidence of any kind is necessary before the U.S. attacks another country. Still, there are two interesting things about his statement that don't jump right out. First of all of all, like many Americans, Reynolds has completely bought into the idea that Iraq having or developing nuclear weapons –qualities that hardly make it unique- means that the U.S. has justification to attack. Secondly, again like many Americans, Reynolds has a narrative in his head that Iraq is developing nuclear weapons and any evidence that could support that narrative is assumed to support that narrative. Hence, Reynolds responds to an article that says that the relevant law enforcement is still trying to determine where the uranium was destined for, by saying Iraq is to blame “If this report holds up.” The assumption is that Iraq is guilty and needs to prove its innocence. There is a reason I rarely visit instapundit.com but I don’t mean to pick on Glenn Reynolds. It is true that, in the words of Jim Henley, “Reynolds is not just an interventionist but among the most important of them” but even more importantly these opinions are shared by many who don’t have weblogs read by thousands of people. But that is just the problem as all too many people accept that Iraq has to prove it shouldn’t be attacked for doing what plenty of other countries do. If this becomes the modus operandi of U.S. foreign policy –and that appears likely- then the U.S. will be beyond any doubt the bully of the world. |