U.S. Troops Jump-Start New Iraqi Economy by Allowing Some Iraqis to Sell Freely Supplied Water to Other Iraqis

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― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't worry, they will be bought out by Evian.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:11 (twenty-two years ago)

locals with access to tanker trucks - who will need gas, and will then do the work of distribution via these trucks - obviously this is an affront to market systems everywhere! What utter bullshit. I demand that they allow the rampant mobbing to continue.

― Millar (Millar), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:13 (twenty-two years ago)

That sounds very pretty, Millar, but you're going to have to try harder than that to come up with an argument that important humanitarian aid distribution should be not only privatized but randomly handed over to the first guy to come along with a tanker.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Doctor: "It just wounds like so much work treating all of these patients. Hey, kid, c'mere ... if I give you my scalpel and some penicillin, will you keep an eye on things while I get in a round of golf?"

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:53 (twenty-two years ago)

1. Oh, I forgot that life is fair and that we have plenty of time on our hands to make sure it is for everybody

2. God forbid a problem be solved quickly, let them drink from sewers for another day or two, can't hurt

3. Perhaps it'd be better if we stole the tanker trucks and had the UK troops drive them around, that way nobody can complain

4. Driving tanker truck around yr neighborhood != surgery, fighting paramilitary troops house-to-house != round of golf

― Millar (Millar), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 22:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Once again, Millar, that all sounds very pretty, but doesn't present any coherent argument for handing over humanitarian aid supplies to unaccountable third parties -- nothing apart from "I, Millar, understand such hardcore realities about war that I mock anyone who expects anyone to do anything right."

This world has a long history of humanitarian supplies falling -- often violently -- into the hands of third parties. In every one of these instances the result is that the people to whom the aid is supposedly directed get jack shit or get gouged for whatever crumbs get tossed their way. This is why you don't give truckloads of aid supplies away to the first guy to come along with a truck.

But since life and war are apparently so hard and none of this is anyone's responsibility, why don't we just dump all the aid supplies into the ocean?

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay, I'm just saying that my reasoning would be to find an expedient solution that stopped the stabbing and scuffling as quickly as possible and got the water into the city. I think that handing off the task in such a fashion solves the problem at least in the very short term. Unless it turns out to be a massive success for everybody involved I highly doubt this will turn into a permanent solution - as a temporary one I don't see what makes it such a terrible option as to not be even worthy of consideration (esp. in comparison with option 2, rioting and dehydration)

― Millar (Millar), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:13 (twenty-two years ago)

This will all work out fine if the Iraqis just learn to say "Supersize it!"

― Skottie, Tuesday, 1 April 2003 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Well sure, Millar, I'm not trying to pretend that there aren't always going to be short-term emergencies that call for "best we can do" thinking. But given that the US's committment to humanitarian assistance here is very deeply in question -- and given that, you know, it's not like anyone asked us to invade in the first place -- this doesn't seem like a very good route to go down. I definitely see your point, but the selling of humanitarian aid is at worst reprehensible, at best really shady, and considering that this sort of thing hardly even gets reported on I'm not sure who exactly trusts the US to be all high-minded and careful about establishing proper distribution once it's safer. Mistakes like this tend to calcify, usually out of good old-fashioned laziness.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Mistakes like this tend to calcify, usually out of good old-fashioned laziness.

That's for damn sure. The expedient solution too often becomes the permanent approach...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 April 2003 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

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