but given my background - B.S. in Russian after the army, I tend to take a Russian historical perspective of the wall and "why" it existed. It is an oversimplification to say that the Russians put it there solely to keep Germany from reuniting, this is true. But the Russians did have a justifiable fear of Western Europe - Germany in particular- and they (the Russians) felt justified in keeping forces in the Eastern Block of nations to ensure that they would not attack again. This is the meta I was after in the original thread with Brandioch. That it is not uncommon after a "hot" war to insist that terms of surrender are kept - be they by UN inspection or by keeping occupying forces in the conquered nation.

I also know that you and I disagree (maybe) on whether appeasement as a national strategy is effective. It's something that I haven't totally made up my mind about but I am leaning towards non-appeasement/military as I think that the oil reserves (yep, it's all about the oil) make this particular tyrant a little too dangerous. What I haven't determined is if my fear is rational or irrational. That is the million dollar question for me. A little rational fear, such as don't put your hand in the fire, has kept this species going. The little men that go bump at night (relatives of yours, alien master?), etc. being the irrational. I don't know exactly where Hussein fits on this scale. But I digress...

I already attempted to diffuse this. We'll see what happens.