Guest of 25.02.03 - 07:48 AM

Spoken like a man with no responsibilities whatsoever. Fortunatley for your fellow countrymen and those in other lands our leaders are not so irresponsible.

I too am guardedly optimistic that the global outpouring of anti-war sentiments in recent weeks will result in - absolutely nothing, apart from giving Saddam a bit of hope and something to show his people by way of propaganda on his state television.

So you espouse the disarmament of America, and the former super-powers, so that we resort to,"..using the international body that already exists to prevent wars, and intervene to stop them." - Can you tell me exactly how the international body that already exists is going to do that?? Without large numbers of cohesive, well trained, well equipped forces at its disposal the efforts of that international body that already exists would be powerless to prevent wars, and intervene to stop them.

The current Secretary General of that international body that already exists, prior to taking up his present job, was the representative of that international body that already exists with special responsibility for UN operations in Rwanda and in Bosnia - both astounding successes - would you agree - I certainly wouldn't.

If you wish to change your, ".. thinking to the point where we all agree that the international body must be responsible for global policing," - All I can say to that is that the world will have an extremely apathetic, ineffective and inefficient policeman - going on his track record and performance todate.

"International disarmament of the current and former super-powers must once again rise to the top of the international relations agenda." I can think of far more pressing needs that could be addressed that would be attainable and more effective in the benefit of mankind in general.

"Nothing is being done to stop India from testing missiles, to stop Pakistan from testing nuclear weapons, or to bring North Korea into the world community. Nothing." - Follow your line of thinking and a damn sight less could ever be done - At least as things stand at the moment neither of the three countries you mention would dare try and use those weapons.

"But nothing will change until the people of the world's democracies start to demand change from their political leaders, and demand that the necessary resources and political support be put into the international bodies that already exist to do the job of global policing to prevent and stop wars, rather than bullying the world into starting new ones."

What resources? what political support? You have disarmed the very people that the world has turned to previously in time of crisis, so what are you going to do - when you learn the truth that political support will not avert conflict.

And I would rather tend to think that there would be quite a large number, who should have been getting on with their lives, in Rwanda and Bosnia, who wish that somebody in the world had been around to bully that international body that already exists into more forceful and vigorous action on their behalf a few years ago.