Yeah, god forbid that a Turkish source would be biased, eh? ...and still, my lobbying for a mandatory Common Sense 101 class to be taught at post-secondary institution is falling on deaf ears.
You got my curiosity with this one, so I looked it up. According to this source their are 1,209 mosques in the US, and 2 million American Muslims associated with those mosques. I think the number of Muslims is actually higher, 5 million or so. Dearborn, Michigan has the highest %, nearly 50% of the community. (My mom was born in the next city over and still lives in Michigan.) http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/muslimlife/demograph.htm
The break-up of the USSR and smuggling of weapon's grade material is exactly why this is such an important issue. They recently caught a suspect trying to smuggle 2.4 kg of weapon's grade material from Soviet, Georgia. Iraq has the design, but lacks the material. Al-Qeada would like to get a bomb and with many Checens in their ranks could help smuggle the stuff to (oh lets say) Iraq. If Al-Qeada gets one do you doubt they would use it? They have been smuggling it out for a while now. One headline stated 550 incidents since 1993. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0725-03.htm http://www.nti.org/db/nistraff/1999/19990840.htm http://www.nti.org/db/nistraff/2001/20010650.htm http://public.ornl.gov/tara/ldbiblio/external/news_topic_action.cfm?SR=16&topic=theft http://public.ornl.gov/tara/ldbiblio/external/news_topic_action.cfm?SR=21&topic=theft http://public.ornl.gov/tara/ldbiblio/external/news_topic_action.cfm?SR=26&topic=theft http://public.ornl.gov/tara/ldbiblio/external/news_topic_action.cfm?SR=31&topic=theft
Is it me or was the most worrying piece in the CNN article: Donald Rumsfeld also said this week that the decision to strike Iraq will be based on leadership, not consensus. So he's saying that he doesn't care what anyone, including the US congress or people think, if himself, Bush and Cheney decide they're going to war that's it. Where's the dictator?
First off that source is not commentating on anything. It just shows you the time of the attacks, and the people who were killed. So you tell me how it can be biased when it is listing the events such as 18 soldiers died in this operation. How can that be biased? It is a fact.
As has been said before, it looks like President Tony is up for it - against general public opinion, but supported by the Tory leader. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2227345.stm And I can't see Tony not getting his way. The 'attempted hijacking' of a plane the other day fits in gloriously with Tony and George needing (particularly) European blessing. I'm not saying there wasn't a guy with a gun on the plane. However, the opinion is that he was going to crash the plane into a US embassy in Europe. A little convenient? Given that not all in Europe (and particularly in the UK where Tony needs support) are as worried about the percieved threat of terrorists hijacking planes and flying them into buildings as some in the US are. A military intelligence source told Reuters news agency: "We know for sure that the plan was to crash the plane into a US embassy in Europe." Hmmm. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2227660.stm I'm glad Margareta Linderoth has got her head screwed on.
I have only read the thread up to this point, forgive me if this has been addressed below. This is something that I've become pretty tired of hearing/reading over the last couple of weeks. Fact is, Saddam is not harboring a bunch of "the really nasty Al Queda (sic) types". This is yet another example of incomplete American news coverage and I would LOVE for any of you to show me evidence that he is. Let's start with two facts that have been reported as of late: 1) that there are al-Qaeda members present, and in operation, in Iraq, and 2) that these operatives have received aid from Iraqis. Both of these facts, are in fact true. Now, let's throw in the fact that there's a large portion of Iraq (around 1/3) that Hussein and his Baghdad government wields little to no power over. Who controls this rather large portion of Iraq? The Kurdish majority that lives there, the same Kurds who have been fighting their own war of sorts against the Hussein regime since God knows when. Now, where are these al-Qaeda operatives and with whom are they cavorting? You guessed it, those very same Kurds. Now, with those being the facts, how an al-Qaeda presence in Iraq can be used as a causus belli for an invasion and regime change in Iraq is beyond me. As is the fact that I've heard serious talk of our own government arming and giving training to the Kurds so that they may be used against Hussein if needed...despite the fact that they are known to be currently supporting al-Qaeda representatives and that their own leadership (the PKK) is listed at #13 on the US's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations released on October 5 of last year. I won't even get into the ideological differences that would make a Hussein-al Qaeda alliance all but impossible.
We don't need anyones help, infact those damn royal marines will only slow down our better trained armed forces.
It would be unsafe to send in the Royal Marines, as we all know how the United States treat their allies on the battlefield
ICM Research poll of British attitudes to the aftermath of 9/11, the war on terror and impending action against Iraq. Notable highlight ...
I'd be in the 22% who say yes (anyone who doesn't believe Iraq is a threat just because we don't have concrete proof is perhaps being ever so slightly naive) but my big concern is "do we actually have a plan for getting rid of saddam?" Sure there'll be a month or so of bombing raids which will make good TV and good propoganda for arab TV channels, but then what? Without a full-on ground war we'll be just subjected to generals sitting around scratching their heads going "oh I don't understand, we've bombed loads of things and he hasn't given up." Iraq is not Afghanistan or Kuwait. A ground war could be really messy, especially if other Arab countries join in.
You need support for Political reasons. If there were any British ground troops going in, the first would be an SAS soldier and as we know the Green Berets would seriously slow them down.
Interesting. Would you say that the poll is accurate? What is the general mood in Britain now regarding a possible attack on Iraq?
saddam played the "they want our oil" card the other day in a speech. which means 2 things. 1. retarded amercians around the US will go. "OMGLOL HE MUST BE RIGHT!" all the while shephard smith will have something else to talk about on fox news. 2. they're starting to squirm pretty bad in baghdad. 3. saddam will most likely win the "no spin zone" record for continually being featured on the worst show ever (o'rielly factor) for the last who knows how long.
have you ever SEEN an iraqi's booty? if so you won't want to share it. you'll want to give it all away.
Hard to say really as despite it being on the news a lot, nobody talks about it much. For most people it just isn't that high on the agenda. It sounds bad but I think people have become somewhat jaded about the whole "war on terror" issue. Opinion polls can very easily skew the answers of the uncommitted depending on how they are asked. for example, if there were two polls, one asking... Should Iraq be attacked to ensure Saddam can't rebuild stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction? and another asking.... Is is right to attack Iraq even though there is no proof he has weapons factories and the attack would be against UN rules? ...then I'd wager that the first would get a high yes% and the second a high no%, even if they were asked to random people in the street.
Yeah, simple fact is that The War Against Terror (or "TWAT") is seen as a largely American thing with primarily American interests being central to it. Obviously we send the boys in alongside you, but if the US Armed Forces went to get coffee, there'd be a token force of grizzly men from Hereford alongside them. That's not news. We're the modern-day equivalent of a Battle of Britain Eagle squadron. The Royal American Reserve. Which keeps all the khaki types in clover, I suppose. That's nice, bless 'em.
It would appear that Mr Cam's medication cycle is nearing the re-stock point. You can tell, because he always starts recycling his fantasies. That's the third person this month that will be meeting a sticky end at the hands of a Mr Cam-wielded Mark II Gerbil in Fort Bragg. Mr Cam needs to stop reading those Tom Clancy novels. It's making him socially maladjusted. And he needs to come to terms with the fact that he didn't make it into the Boy Scouts. They didn't want you, Mr Cam. It happens.
I think it is now obvious that there are already enough "ASS-HOLES" in the world without Mr. Cam trying to create more.
I am just glad turkey isnt part of the european union yet. Damn that people realy piss me off every time I return to germany. For me this is basically the most unsymphatic worst-mannered nation in the world. Whether or not the US gets foreign support depends on the sensitivity with which the war is planned and justified. If the US starts with arguing: we can do it alone too, then this is a pretty childish way of approaching the issue. I often hear this: "we could do it alone, and we only ask you because we dont want to disrespect you." This clearly shows that the US and most of its citizens havent really understood the conseuquences of a war against Iraq. We are not only talking about a great amount of possible KIA but also economical backdrafts. And believe me, disturbing the middle East with war, confusing the world-oil-source, is a dangerous thing. And you will need support. More of diplomatic and economical nature than military one.
I think the Bush administration's plan, based on the following column from The Guardian, is that they want to bring other Arab countries into the conflict, but one-by-one. http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,785394,00.html "For the hawks, disorder and chaos sweeping through the region would not be an unfortunate side-effect of war with Iraq, but a sign that everything is going according to plan. "In their eyes, Iraq is just the starting point - or, as a recent presentation at the Pentagon put it, "the tactical pivot" - for re-moulding the Middle East on Israeli-American lines."
I hope that the US does not actually attack Iraq. It is only a matter of time before Saddam or Al Qaeda strikes again and maybe it will be a European target. The Euros will quickly change their tune then.
Sounds like Germany is not going to jump in and help.. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11923 Schroeder, thinks it will have a huge destabilizing effect on the region and will undermine the war with Al Quaeda.