What if saddam hussein was still in power

I cried, sheltered by the loud masses and the dim lights of the altar. Colombia, a country where defending human rights represents a mortal danger and more than 1, social activists have been killed after believing in a badly implemented peace treaty in Mexico has its own plagues, like currently being the country where more journalists are killed in the world. Though not for a direct loved one, my grief was irrepressible. Mexico and Colombia share a history of colonization, massacres and social mobilization.

Two countries that lead the rates of environmental and human rights defenders killings. Two countries where gender-based violence is a pandemic. In Colombia, in , every day 95 girls denounced sexual violence.

In Mexico from January to May , there have been femicides. I cried for them, I cried from a deeply engrained grief I knew I had but never before came pouring out. A peacefulness and solemnity I didn't know could come with grief. I was transported to when I marched for peace in Colombia with my dad.

We all had so much hope in the treaties that were being negotiated. We all deserved a different country. My dad taught me to doubt politicians , to truly care about the well-being of others, to give generously, and listen patiently, even if the world is not always kind in return.

I remember the Club Colombia beer he drink with lunch and the way he silently cried sometimes when music invaded him, regardless of the genre. He was a sensitive and curious soul. In love with this world and always teaching me about it. I wish we had walked between the trees of Mexico City together.

I wish I didn't have to write this piece. I dried my tears and kept exploring the packed streets of Frida Kahlo's neighborhood, slightly terrified by the people with Pennywise and Chucky costumes. It was fascinating to see Mexicans and tourists of all ages impersonating superheroes, witches and catrinas. The omnipresent skeleton representation of a woman is the death that comes to visit.

Ecuadorian, Guatemalan and Colombian journalists, as well as other Latinxs , we all felt so lucky to have experienced a conference in Mexico city on these particular dates. We even participated in the rituals that showcased the exceptional relationship that Mexicans have with death. On our last day together, one of the Mexican delegates at the conference offered to share his altar with those of us who had lost someone. During the conference, we got the news a dear journalist for all of us had suddenly lost her boyfriend.

She was not able to travel to Mexico, but we all felt her close to our hearts. Even if she was back in Venezuela, we put her boyfriend's photo on the altar. It shared the place of honor with a picture of my dad, who died two-and-a-half years ago; with the photo of my Ecuadorian friend's mama, who left nine years ago, with the drawings of my Colombian friend's papa and best friend, each departed just a few months ago.

In Colombia, the masses to commemorate my papa's death become less frequent with time, and the only thing mentioned now is his name. That 30th of October on a white Altar with a few candles, our missed ones shared a mezcal bottle and the Yucatan region Pibipollo, tamale-like chicken pastry, cooked in a hole under the earth, "a metaphor of burial" as my friend Matos described it.

Mexico was hosting our Latin American ancestors for a feast on a celebration where the bridge stands between life and death, a bridge called remembrance, as the song in Coco successfully imprinted on us. Hugging, and letting out tears of happy nostalgia, we remembered their favorite songs, their happiest moments, their favorite outfits and even their very human defects. We felt embraced both by them and by each other.

Mexico was giving me a sense of collective grief and accompaniment I never imagined possible. Mexico was healing a part of my heart that was angry at the world for not listening to my desperate scream for community and empathy.

Grief acquired a surprising new taste of gratitude. I remember one of my worst memories of grieving back at home when a priest gave a eulogy centered on my father's duty to repent and accompany a God he didn't really adore. Now, instead, this ancient Mexican rite was giving my dad a singular place of importance, not that of a priest's pawn or a subject of God. I wish the grieving process wasn't so painful and hard for people like me. I wish it wasn't so lonely that sometimes I wished I believed in their God to feel part of something.

I wish we had something more meaningful than the Americanized trick or treating every " Halloween " in Colombia. Despite being a Catholic country as well, the eclecticism of its beautiful syncretic traditions rooted in precolonial cosmovisions was allowing my dad to come back for something like a real-life chat with me as we shared a few Mezcales and a shot of tequila though I know he'd prefer a beer!

What I do have now is a place where I can sit once a year and feel closer to the signs Papa keeps sending me. I'm not sure in which city, but from now on my dad will always have an altar he can come to visit.

Who knows, we might get to share his favorite Colombian beer next time. Driven by the desire to offer an experience rooted in their terroir , more and more star chefs are turning into farmers. The three variations of such a roll-back policy are assassination, providing support to Iraqi opposition elements, or by taking control of the country. Each is discussed below. Is assassination, as some have suggested, an option? The short answer is no.

Moreover, assassination raises a host of legal, moral and political problems. An Executive Order continues in force that precludes assassination.

Any change in this order would set off a major domestic and international debate that would damage the reputation of the United States. In addition, we need to think twice before weakening this norm for more practical reasons. The United States is the most open society in the world. We are as a result highly vulnerable to assassination and retaliation ourselves. R Richard N. A second version of roll-back would borrow from the experience in Afghanistan.

This proposal, however, overlooks the reality that the Iraqi opposition is weak and divided. Building a strong, united opposition is an uncertain proposition that at a minimum would take years.

During that time, the United States would still require another policy to deal with the more immediate challenges posed by the regime. Providing direct military help for the Iraqi opposition would prove even more dangerous. We would be investing U. Such a commitment could lead the United States to undertake a full-fledged intervention and occupation if limited support for opposition elements proved insufficient.

The parallel to Afghanistan breaks down in other ways as well. What local country is likely to step forward to be our partner? Neighboring countries, including our ally Turkey, are likely to oppose some of the goals of various Iraqi factions, while U.

Iraqi employment of weapons of mass destruction against U. There would be little appetite here at home for a course of action that would almost certainly prove expensive in both financial and human terms. What, then, is the answer to the question that informs this hearing? Can Saddam be overthrown? The only sure approach would require a massive investment of time, resources and possibly lives. We do not know how much resistance to us and support for Saddam would materialize, how much terrorism might be unleashed in retaliation, how much support we could expect in the region.

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