Sheryl Crow says all we need to do is 'not have enemies'. This philosophy is known as appeasement. While I originally wrote about appeasement back in September, I think there is a need to repost it.

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Although history has shown that appeasement doesn't work with a fanatical despot, there remains to be a sizeable movement for appeasement of Saddam Hussein.

What is appeasement, you ask? How do we know it won't work, you ask? The Godfather of modern appeasement is Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain became the British Prime Minister in 1937, and his foreign policy of pacifying Adolf Hitler and the rising German tensions became known as appeasement.

Chamberlain began to ask "Why do they hate us?" He felt that the Germans had been mistreated after the first World War, and that agreeing to the demands of Hitler and Mussolini would stave off another European war. This included the unification of Austria and Germany, a violation of the Treaty of Versailles, as well as turning over the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, with the signing of the Munich Agreement. It should be noted that the Czechoslovakia's head of State not only didn't sign the Munich Agreement, but he wasn't even invited to the meeting.

About six months after receiving the Sudetenland, Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia, breaking the Munich Agreement he had signed. Oops. I bet Chamberlain didn't think he'd do that.

Chamberlain gave up appeasement, and with the invasion of Poland, Britain finally declared war on Germany. A short time later, Chamberlain resigned.

Compare this to Saddam Hussein. Some say Iraq has been mistreated after the Gulf War. UN sanctions have wreaked havoc on the country, and appeasement might make Saddam come around. If we meet a few of his demands, like lifting UN sanctions, we may stave off another Gulf War.

Or, he may 're-unify' with Kuwait, or seize Saudi Arabia. He may build up an arsenal filled with weapons of mass destruction, while deflecting our attention with weapons inspectors and broken UN resolutions. If we wait until he 'does something', it just may be too late. src