I hear lots of people criticize the US about it's interferance in IRAQ and the middle east. You all know the rising issue of terrorism that peaked 9/11.

How would you have reacted from the information you had?

Lets assume the following since it's thing that can be agreed from on all sides.

1) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein) said multiple times on nationally broadcast news that he supports and cheers on the terrorists who attacked us. Though he never came out and said "I give terrorists support" he denied any exportation of known terrorists for any country, the US, Europe etc. He was giving them asylum

2) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein, his regime and more) were without any doubt guilty of genocide of his own people, attacking unprovoked targets (Kuwait).

3) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein, his regime etc) refused to follow UN Sanctions so many times I lack the fingers and toes. They refused to obey the rules of an organization they belonged.

Knowing the above, and knowing through intelligence that a plethora of money and weapondry was filtering through IRAQ to be used by the same terrorists that commited 9/11... what would you have done?

7/15/2006 12:51:16 PM

Quote :

"twww, write my paper"

7/15/2006 1:01:26 PM

terrorism is what

7/15/2006 1:08:51 PM

Quote :

"tww write my paper"

7/15/2006 1:14:31 PM

Stop giving Israel money which fuels terrorism. Israel's enemies become our enemies which result in Terrorism in the US. And your tax dollars support Israel.

7/15/2006 1:20:49 PM

Quote :

"Knowing the above, and knowing through intelligence that a plethora of money and weapondry was filtering through IRAQ to be used by the same terrorists that commited 9/11... what would you have done?"

Invade. Capture or kill Saddam, Uday, Qusay, and others. Get out.

Let the UN do the peacekeeping afterward with French troops.

7/15/2006 1:32:36 PM

I would have focused more efforts into rebuilding Afghanistan into a great example before involving the US in any more military actions in the Middle East.

7/15/2006 3:19:24 PM

hmmmmmmmm. interesting question. who's your professor?

7/15/2006 3:21:14 PM

Quote :

"1) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein) said multiple times on nationally broadcast news that he supports and cheers on the terrorists who attacked us."

Like I give a fuck. I don't care who supports what, I care who threatens the US/me. Let people stand in the desert and curse this country and everyone in it...as long as they don't crash planes into our skyscrapers etc I don't give a fuck.

Quote :

"2) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein, his regime and more) were without any doubt guilty of genocide of his own people, attacking unprovoked targets (Kuwait)."

Like our country gives a fuck about genocide. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in Sudan in the past few years (over 2 million since '83) and we don't do shit cause they ain't got the spice.
Oh and the Kurds weren't "his people." That’s like saying the Palestinians are Ariel Sharon's own people.

Quote :

"3) IRAQ (Saddam Hussein, his regime etc) refused to follow UN Sanctions so many times I lack the fingers and toes. They refused to obey the rules of an organization they belonged."

Israel doesn't listen to a word the UN says. Should we invade them next? Oh that’s right, we're not trying to invent reasons to attack them.

Quote :

"and knowing through intelligence that a plethora of money and weapondry was filtering through IRAQ to be used by the same terrorists that commited 9/11"

I know you meant Saudi Arabia, that must have been a slip.

Oh and drop the d from weapondry and you'll have a REAL word next time


Now before you hop on the jump to conclusions mat, I'm not saying we should send troops to Sudan or force Isreal to abide by the UN's resolutions. Hell I'm not even saying we shouldn't have invaded Iraq. I'm just saying your reasons are bullshit.

7/15/2006 4:24:18 PM

Quote :

"knowing through intelligence that a plethora of money and weapondry was filtering through IRAQ to be used by the same terrorists that commited 9/11"

I'd be interested to see reports outlining how the 9/11 hijackers were funded by monies filtered through iraq (no sarcasm, I seriously would like to read about this). That said it would seem that the hijackers used little as far as conventional weaponry to carry out stateside attacks. There are also many countries that have AQ money filtering through them and likely much more than could have possibly gone through Iraq simply due to logistics. We have yet to attack many of these countries and in some cases we already had troops stationed in country.

Quote :

"I would have focused more efforts into rebuilding Afghanistan into a great example "

While I agree with your point that we should have focused our efforts to finish what we started in Afghanistan, it will never be a country that we can mold into what we consider a great example. We have a much better shot in Iraq, unfortunately.

7/15/2006 4:55:01 PM

7/15/2006 5:27:27 PM

^

7/15/2006 5:35:21 PM

I say we reduce our dependency on foreign oil and then just let them do whatever the fuck they want to each other and pull out of the region entirely.

7/15/2006 5:38:57 PM

drop a ton of carolina barbecue on mecca and a ton on medina and a ton on jerusalem

7/15/2006 5:50:06 PM

We'll all go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes.

7/15/2006 6:12:45 PM

Quote :

"Knowing the above, and knowing through intelligence that a plethora of money and weapondry was filtering through IRAQ to be used by the same terrorists that commited 9/11... what would you have done? "

Fifteen of the nineteen terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, North Korea has nukes, Iran is on their way, and China is antagonizing the US through their control of North Korea. What about Darfur?

Also, if we had spent the money on renewable energy resources that we spent on the war, it wouldn't be necessary for us to invade a foreign country for their oil.

Mike

[Edited on July 15, 2006 at 6:53 PM. Reason : blah]

7/15/2006 6:52:33 PM

Quote :

"Like our country gives a fuck about genocide. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in Sudan in the past few years (over 2 million since '83) and we don't do shit cause they ain't got the spice."

This has been a major--and somewhat valid--critique of western foreign policy for a while now. There are several places in the world (Darfur, Somalia, Liberia, etc) that have degenerated into near anarchy, yet nothing of substance is done by the United States, the United Nations, England, France, or any other country with sufficient resources to intervene. Given this, when a country does decide to interpose somewhere, the cynicism about ulterior motives shouldn't be a surprise.

7/15/2006 7:47:57 PM

I lov u saddam

7/15/2006 8:08:21 PM

my bad with the terrorists origins. This was an off the wall post from an arguement I had with someone about the effect of the war on terrorism. Their thoughts were we should just stop meddling in others business. I retorted... "we tried that... hitler liked that".

(Laughs) No this is not me trying to get someone to write a paper for me. The point of this was to see what facts other people could bring to the table about what they would have done. I hear a lot of criticism but little helpful comments from the public venue or in discussions. I honestly admit I don't know all of the facts. There's a lot of confusing information out there these days.

One is about the money laundering going through IRAQ. A shitload of money was filtered through IRAQ, through oil industries, manufacturering etc etc. That was all proven. Sure it wasn't all of it or even close to 1/4th of what is suspected but the way the government worked there was no way to prove it. Easily hidden.

You made an awesome point Synapse. Sudan, hell 1/3rd of Africa is experiencing the worst crimes against humanty seen. It's literally as bad and in some cases worse than the Nazi crimes against jews. It's sickening. So why haven't we helped? That's a good question. The most probable answer was that it didn't threaten a global resource. Diamonds don't count.

Iraq was also a good target to reform. The sudan would be like Vietnam for us. You think Iraq is bad? Most of the Sudan is underdeveloped with little infrastructure which is why the army is so powerful there. That's a war we cannot win.

7/15/2006 9:10:41 PM

i think the entire area would make a very nice glass table top

7/15/2006 9:53:52 PM

Quote :

"One is about the money laundering going through IRAQ. A shitload of money was filtered through IRAQ, through oil industries, manufacturering etc etc. That was all proven. Sure it wasn't all of it or even close to 1/4th of what is suspected but the way the government worked there was no way to prove it. Easily hidden. "

9-11 was financed largely through saudi arabian money. thats a fact. this bs about iraq money laundering is just that, bs. i care about who has/can directly harmed this country. iraq didnt fit into either of those categories.

Quote :

"The sudan would be like Vietnam for us. You think Iraq is bad? Most of the Sudan is underdeveloped with little infrastructure which is why the army is so powerful there. That's a war we cannot win."

and what do you think iraq is? this is guerrilla warfare, just like vietnam. you never win a guerrilla war...you just eventually pull out.

Quote :

"what would you have done?"

and to address your original question, no troops in iraq. with AL QUEDA (u know, the group that actually attacked us), iran, north korea, china etc we have all kinds of uses for our troops that don't involve countries that don't directly threaten/attack us. but now, with the fierce majority of our military bogged down in a guerrilla war in iraq, we are incapable of responding to the above mentioned hot spots and they fucking know it. thats why iran is flipping the middle finger and korea is firing off missiles. they know we don't have the capacity to do shit about it.

Quote :

"I say we reduce our dependency on foreign oil and then just let them do whatever the fuck they want to each other and pull out of the region entirely."

ssh, thats bad business.

7/15/2006 11:45:49 PM

Dismanlte Israel (and insure the land was returned to the Palestinians) and after that, pull out from the Middle east completely.

7/16/2006 12:04:17 AM

^now i like the way this guy is talking

7/16/2006 12:06:47 AM

the palestinians have no more rightful claim to it than the israelis

7/16/2006 12:44:18 AM

Quote :

"the palestinians have no more rightful claim to it than the israelis"

how so?

7/16/2006 12:47:25 AM

they were there the last thousand years + and i dont think the jews could remember back 1000 years.

7/16/2006 12:54:02 AM

So Synapse what you're saying is that we should let them fight it out on their own and we should have just beefed up our borders? Perhaps sending troops to other areas of the world.

7/16/2006 10:10:49 AM

Quote :

"Like our country gives a fuck about genocide. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in Sudan in the past few years (over 2 million since '83) and we don't do shit cause they ain't got the spice. "

Bwahahaha.

Who gives a fuck about Harmonthep? More troops to Arrakis please, these fucking melange prices are killing me

7/16/2006 11:49:35 AM

Quote :

"they were there the last thousand years + and i dont think the jews could remember back 1000 years. "

your kidding right??

7/16/2006 11:51:36 AM

drop 7 billion ants and 10 million cups of sugar

when i saw them running around i'd be like "you must got ants in yer pants"

[Edited on July 16, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ^yeah really, jews have been around forever ago]

7/16/2006 12:07:11 PM

^^ no she's not. She's a fucking idiot. You should see some of the nonsense she wrote in the lounge.

[Edited on July 16, 2006 at 12:30 PM. Reason : or all of her post for that matter.]

7/16/2006 12:27:24 PM

Quote :

"I say we reduce our dependency on foreign oil and then just let them do whatever the fuck they want to each other and pull out of the region entirely."

hell of a good idea

7/16/2006 12:35:51 PM

Who the fuck cares if they were there a thousand years ago. I'm talking about recent history. If you goign to give the Jews land that they were settled no a thousand years ago, then you should have no problem giving slave reparations to the decendents of slaves.

7/16/2006 12:56:56 PM

that and letting the natives that were driven south (mexicans) back into the country and giving all natives reperations.

(i think this is rediculous but it is not NEARLY as rediculous as the creation of israel)

7/16/2006 1:12:22 PM

Quote :

"that and letting the natives that were driven south (mexicans)"

uh mexicans are native to mexico homey

7/16/2006 1:18:59 PM

we drove several into political mexico that were native to places like texas california oklahoma new mexico and arizone. unless you''re going to tell me natives on each side of the rio grande were a completely different peoples?

7/16/2006 1:29:17 PM

Texas is not part of America.

Not my America

7/16/2006 1:37:28 PM

It seems the consensus is in favor of a $2 tax on gasoline, is this correct?

7/17/2006 12:19:16 AM

Quote :

"Media Contact: For help contacting the expert listed below, contact Chad Austin, NC State News Services, at 919/515-3470. July 14, 2006 NC State Professor Available to Discuss Israel-Lebanon Conflict The current conflict between Israel and the Lebanese military and political group Hezbollah stems from social and political tensions in the region, and not merely the capture of Israeli soldiers, according to a North Carolina State University history professor. Dr. Akram Khater, professor of Middle Eastern history at NC State and an expert in Lebanese politics, says the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers were calculated steps by Hezbollah and Hamas to assert power in the region. Khater also says Israel’s military response reflects the country’s political and military doctrine which stipulates the nation cannot appear weak. Although Israel’s response was strong and swift, the results only lead to increased hatred of the Jewish state, deepening of the conflict and more long-term problems in the region. Additionally, Khater says the United States is the only nation that can resolve the conflict, but U.S. military operations in Iraq, coupled with strained relationships with Iran and Syria create challenges in bringing about a resolution. Khater is available to discuss these and other issues related to the current events in the Middle East. Khater can be reached by phone at 919/513-2218 or email at akram_khater@ncsu.edu."

7/17/2006 12:21:00 AM

i think the easiest way at dealing with this is to kill all the people that want to fight and kill people

7/17/2006 1:31:53 AM

Al Queda actually did much of their pre-9/11 money laundering via the black market diamond trade in Africa.

Quote :

"attacking unprovoked targets"

Isn't attacking a provocation?

7/17/2006 2:18:25 AM

Quote :

"McDanger Texas is not part of America. Not my America "

good job there, mr. logical consistency.

7/17/2006 3:56:37 AM

Quote :

""

7/17/2006 6:28:54 AM

cxmai, Protostar...you're both making a big mistake...

It's okay to be upset over the situation and wish that Israel was never created.

But that's as far as that goes. The situation is what it is.

And if you can't get past the premise (reality, in this case), then you're not fit to argue.

This is why I don't take my opinion on this matter very seriously.

I'm constantly coming back to, "man, I wish we could talk to the idiots who started this shit."

But beware, folks. I may not be debating, but I'm ready to call out the racism/prejudice.

7/17/2006 9:36:27 AM

How would I handle the Middle East?

Get all American 'servicemen' back on American soil. Leave and don't look back.

Enable absolutely unrestricted trade with all middle-eastern nations.

Apologize for years of occupation and meddling.

7/17/2006 9:53:11 AM

Quote :

"I'm ready to call out the racism/prejudice."

I was wondering why you and joe_schmoe (our resident 'You're a racist!' peeps) were slacking off. Let me help you...

cxmai:

Quote :

"I'm a jew hater"

cxmai:

Quote :

"i hate to quote the most evil man of all time but hitler claimed jews were "cunning, and would better themselves at everyone elses cost" and thats exactly what happened after he was defeated."

[Edited on July 17, 2006 at 9:55 AM. Reason : ]

7/17/2006 9:55:18 AM

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

7/17/2006 10:01:38 AM

^^I stopped calling out salisburyboy a while ago. I'm not gonna go down that road again with cxmai.

7/17/2006 10:13:27 AM

Quote :

"good job there, mr. logical consistency."

Haha I was kidding. For some reason I thought he meant the Mexicans were native Americans as in, the ones in other parts of the country. I wasn't thinking of the folks that left the regions we took in the war. Yeah but fuck Texas anyway.

7/17/2006 10:16:19 AM

Quote :

"Who the fuck cares if they were there a thousand years ago. I'm talking about recent history. If you goign to give the Jews land that they were settled no a thousand years ago, then you should have no problem giving slave reparations to the decendents of slaves."

When are the Egyptians going to pay slave reparations to the Israelites?

7/17/2006 11:23:15 AM