The Official War Room

[fryke]

That the USA started a war under false pretense and theoretically would need some UN sanctions? Will the president of the USA, who's clearly responsible for these crimes, ever have to stand trial? Or, if that seems rather impossible, will he just say "I'm sorry!" when he leaves the office? I know, I know, probably someone will now again say I'm a little too aggressive myself about this stuff, that I'm an outsider and have no idea about all of this, but let's just get one thing clear here about this: The USA brought war to places _much_ nearer to where I live. "Fight them there so you don't have to fight them here?" Take it in- or outside, buddies, because the world's _my_ bar as well.

[bbloke]

Wow, I hadn't noticed this thread before and some of the views stated just amazed me...

I essentially agree with what fryke posted, above. To summarize, I thought, and still think, the invasion of Iraq was nothing to do with "liberation" (*cough*), a dictatorship, WMD, or 9/11. As I expected, sadly, it has turned out to be quite a mess and I don't see things getting better any time soon. In fact, I still see hawkish attitudes towards other Middle Eastern countries. The world is becoming less safe now.

From some of the things I read or hear, I really, really despair at some people's attitudes and, erm, questionable understanding of history and politics. Now, that said, I should emphasize that, as some posters have already raised, people in any country are still individuals. So it goes without saying that no one should tar a whole nation with the views expressed by one or two of its citizens.

There's just so much which could be said or cited. I'll keep this brief, though.

[Rhisiart]

I think GWB wants a Holy war. Not between Christians and Muslims, but between Muslims and Muslims (Sunnis and Shias). Keep them fighting each other so they eventually implode.

Divide and rule. Worked well for the British in its former Empire days.

To prove my point, why is it that on more than one occasion it is alleged that coalition forces were about to apprehend Osama Bin Laden, but were told to withdraw at the eleventh hour? What's the reason for keeping him alive?

[Mobius Rex]

The suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people by the Saddam Hussein regime absolutely PALES when compared with the suffering and misery brought upon them by the US from 1991 to the present; from the ten year embargo which destroyed Iraq's acclaimed social services structure, to the devastation of Iraqi towns and villages by US firepower, the wholesale slaughter of civilians, the poisoning of Iraqi land by tons of depleted uranium weapons resulting in an explosive increase in horrible birth defects and cancers......a war crime of staggering proportions, and the intentional creation and encouragement of internecine warfare between Islamic factions(Iraq has no history of such fighting between Islamic groups prior to the US invasion and occupation).
The occupation of Iraq is just one part of an overall "game plan" by the US for domination of the entire near and middle east(the current rape of Lebanon by America's client, Israel, is just one facet).
I recommend reading the book, "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and It's Geostrategic Imperatives, by Zbigniew Brzezinski: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/046...lance&n=283155. It was published in 1998.
Brzizinski was President Jimmy Carter's national security advisor, and is a Machiavellian proponent of what is, in fact, an imperialist thesis.
Read it in light of what is currently transpiring in the near/middle east. It's all chillingly laid out in this book.

[Esquilinho]

And I recomend the viewing of "Rambo 3":

"Plot Summary for
Rambo III (1988) [from imdb.com]

John Rambo's former Vietnam superior, Colonel Samuel Trautman, has been assigned to lead a mission to help the Mujahedeen rebels who are fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns down Trautman's request that Rambo help out. When the mission goes belly up and Trautman is kidnapped and tortured by Russian Colonel Zaysen, Rambo launches a rescue effort and allies himself with the Mujahedeen rebels and gets their help in trying to rescue Trautman from Zaysen."

[ora]

I watched that recently, reminded me of the time some ex CIA high up admitted teh US had no human assest in Afghanistan prior to the invasion because their guys had all been taliban, who the US had supplyed with them guns to fight the russians.

[doemel]

Originally Posted by Esquilinho

And I recomend the viewing of "Rambo 3":

"Plot Summary for
Rambo III (1988) [from imdb.com]

John Rambo's former Vietnam superior, Colonel Samuel Trautman, has been assigned to lead a mission to help the Mujahedeen rebels who are fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns down Trautman's request that Rambo help out. When the mission goes belly up and Trautman is kidnapped and tortured by Russian Colonel Zaysen, Rambo launches a rescue effort and allies himself with the Mujahedeen rebels and gets their help in trying to rescue Trautman from Zaysen."

I actually saw that movie about 3 weeks after 9/11. The irony of it would be too funny hadn't been there so much suffering and death on 9/11.