[Khornet]

Remember the thread about how ordinari Iraqis could freely purchase arms, and how could that be if private arms deter tyranny?

Check this out:
www.jewishworldreview.com/0403/tushnet.html

[jrhines]

I seem to remember that just prior to the '91 war, Saddam rearmed the populace in an attempt to possibly slow the advance of American troops. (Does anyone else recall anything about this?) I believe that the average Iraq soldier in Kuwait thought he was there on a mission of retribution against the Western devils and their support for Israel. He was glad to get the chance to kill a few invaders. Did Saddam disarm these people in the last 12 years, my guess is no. Hence, it looks like everybody is armed and in support of their local despot. I think the proof of the pudding is that few of these folks went after the current "invaders".
This history is too new to write!

[Standing Wolf]

I'd be very surprised to learn Iraq had anything even remotely like our Second Amendment.

[Kobun]

The Iraqis might have had guns, but they did not have the right to speak what they were thinking.

What is the use of being armed, alone, against an ever present secret police force that would torture and kill you if they even thought you had said something against the system.

One needs to have the ability to make a plan together with other armed people if one is to have even a remote chance of overthrowing a dictator.

How far would the US forces have come if they were going into Iraq without the possibility to comunicate between themselves?

The right to be armed, and the right to free speach goes hand in hand.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=43854

[JeremyIA]

This journalist is quoting another journalist. Most journalists in the liberal media are inaccurate enough on their own without playing "telephone" by quoting eachother. I've heard just as many reports from defectors from Iraq who have stated that the presence of a firearm in an Iraqi household meant a bullet in the head for every family member followed by a torching of the house.

Anyhow, today the New York Times lost ALL of its credibility regarding their reporting on issues surrounding the war in Iraq and the events leading up to it. If you don't believe me, check out the following link from the Op-Ed page of the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html?ex=1050638400&en=ea21e8c88feae21c&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

If they KNEW that Hussein was a madman and a torturer of innocents then why did the NY Times slant everything in Hussein's defense? They could have given more balance to their reporting without compromising individuals. The NY Times' effort to save face after they found out that they were on the wrong side of history is pathetic.

The entire article mentioned at the beginning of this post was written on the premise that the NY Times was telling the truth. They haven't. They've misrepresented facts and they've slanted their war coverage--admittedly so.

[Leatherneck]

This morning on fox News at the daily press conference from CENTCOM HQ, BG Brooks alluded briefly to the need to disarm (some) Iraqis. This prompted some back-and-forth about whether ordinary Iraqis had the RKBA. Brooks backed off anything like a gun grab and said clearly that the right to weapons was a question that the Iraqi people would have to decide for themselves. I was glad to hear him say that. I certainly wouldn't want to be a citizen in Iraq right now without weapons. I wonder if he personally supports our 2A as an individual right.

TC
TFL Survivor

[Atticus]

I've heard several reports in recent days indicating that only SOME people were allowed to have guns prior to the war- and those people without guns are currently defenseless against roving gangs of armed thugs. The Hussein family may have been a lot of things- but they weren't that stupid. They armed only those loyal to them in an effort to control everyone else. Uday was retorted to have randomly shot people who ticked him off in traffic. I doubt if he would have lived as long as he did if everyone had access to AK's. With all the guns lying around thses days I'll bet that's changed. Just yesterday, the US military made a request to the population of Baghdad that they not openly display weapons. That's a good sign. On the other hand the Brits are already asking for turn- ins in Basra. I would bet that compliance is pretty low.

[Standing Wolf]

The right to keep and bear arms is essential to good government, but it's by no means the only necessary ingredient.