Reply #16: We'll never know; however, I think it's safe to say, they will never make that mistake again. [View All]

[MGD]

You know what they say about those who don't learn from history.


"No doubt most Iraqis felt a lot safer under Saddam's police state than they do now as well."

No doubt; however, Saddam's police state no longer exists and is, therefore, irrelevant to their current situation. They must survive, as best they can, in their new reality.

"An armed populace is no deterrent to dictatorship or crime"
I disagree and the very unique example that Iraq provides us does not really support your position IMO as many Iraqis are using their weapons to, in fact, deter US occupation much in the way that many Americans would certainly use their weapons to resist an occupation by Chinese uniformed soldiers for example. And to use their example as evidence that an armed populace doesn't deter crime is to suggest that they aren't also involved in a civil war but are, rather, committing random self-serving criminal acts such as that might occur in a dark US alley in the "wrong part of town". As such, this is a poor example from which to draw your conclusions.

"a powerful state-run police force might be able to keep you safe from crime, but not necessarily from the state."

I can't argue with that.