Subject: Comments on "To the Victor go the Spoils": And that would be for Saddam as we saw with Kuwait to rape pillage and plunder. I thought we were different before the Supreme Court gave the Presidency to Bush. VICE President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had little problem supporting Saddam when he was the enemy of our enemy Iran even though he used chemical weapons on Iran and his own citizens; the Kurds. Then they told us we would be welcomed in the street for freeing Iraqi citizens from Saddam's abuses (which we had turned a blind eye to) and it would cost the American taxpayer nothing because of the oil wealth of Iraq. Had there been less arrogance on the part of our present leadership and at least after the perceived military victory we had placed the administrative efforts to govern Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations perhaps we would not be perceived as out to rape, plunder and pillage the country we invaded. And it is American tax payers who are being raped, plundered and pillaged and American soldiers who continue to die. Gloating victors like Bush only draw the enmity of the vanquished. Under the World Trade Organization's procurement pact, for which the United States lobbied heavily and is a signatory; governments must open their purchasing processes to international competition and treat domestic and foreign businesses equally. It is likely that a formal complaint will be filed against us for this administration once again breaking its agreements with the rest of the world when it suits its own purpose. The contrast between the Bush administration's free trade rhetoric and its Iraq bid policy is fueling perceptions that we are an unreliable partner willing to undermine its international obligations when it suits our interests. The mushrooming ill will from our allies could lead to retaliation against American firms abroad and make it tougher to resolve other thorny world disputes. These are our long time allies and when questioned about adherence to the law and the pacts the United States has signed the President spoke the way Saddam might; once again in his rape, pillage and plunder arrogance: "International law? I better call my lawyer. I don't know what your talking about." Before Bush was elevated to the Presidency I thought my country was better than this; to the victors go the spoils, the ends justify the means. Honoring the law and one's word should mean something. As we saw with the Soviet Union and now Libya containment works. The maxim that we should invade every country with a despotic leader who kills and tortures his own citizens to maintain power even if they don't have a large repository of oil does not seem to this casual observer to be the Bush doctrine. Lisa