The Marines are looking to make this "City" they're Biotch!!!! Hoo Rah!!! Kick Azzzzzz Marines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do you mean by the "E.U." The European Union? And what do you mean by them relying on the US to help?
I wish it were that simple. If the US walks away from the aftermath of the war Bush started, Iraq is going to devolve into an extremely bloody civil war.
Then the Iraqi people(s) could be screwed. My point is that it's difficult winning a war that you don't need to fight. Whether we stay or not should be determined exclusively by comparing expected marginal costs with expected marginal benefits. Everything we've put into this war is lost forever. Of course, this administration blatlantly lies about the costs and benefits that there's no way we can reasonably calculate them. One thing is for sure, it will cost a lot in lives and resources. The other side of the equation? Preventing a civil war? Or just delaying it. Should Iraq even be one country? I'm not saying we should leave, but the burden of proof is on the people who want America to be at war.
I understand where you're coming from. I just wonder what will happen to the Middle East as a whole should an unfettered civil war erupt in Iraq after our departure. When we basically left Afghanistan to its own devices when the USSR pulled out, the seed of what eventually became the Taliban was sown. Who knows what will happen long term (5, 10, 20 years) in the future if we left Iraq tomorrow. That's what I mean, and it really gives me the willies.
Id be happy if it were just the Iraqis who would be screwed. But my fear is that Al Qaeda is able to use as a springboard to launch attacks into neighboring Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Then their is the Iranians and the Turks sitting on the border with their own vested interests. Iraq is currently a buffer between a bunch of different interests groups, and Im afraid that its collapse triggers a much broader regional set of conflicts. Their is a reason that we supported Saddam in the first place, and it wasnt because we liked him.
What's your point here? Keeping civilian casualties down is neither easy to do on paper nor on location. Nice that you seem to think there is a problem with hoping this ends with as little innocent blood shed as possible. You're sweet!
Get behind this, the best expression of the Bush mandate; patriots unite. Kill. Everything. We. See. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
Here it is http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041106/wl_afp/iraq_vote_un_us_britain_041106071927
Hey Johnny this thing started to begin to happen over a month ago, and was going to happen even if Bush lost. Should of happened a long time ago and it would have but the head of iraq tried to work it out in peace. That was a mistake there will be no mistake now. If we don't do it elections could not be held and elections are going to be held.
Do the insurgents use body bags? We should sell them some they are going to need them not us. let's wait and see. Point is fullagia will not be a concern for us or Iraq when it is over.
I know you won't understand this, but the people that will die in an assault on Falluja are human beings no matter what they believe.
We liberated them a long time ago from their main problem which was Saddam. Now we will remove a lot of the insurents and some of the bad Saddam supporters its better for iraq. An iraq will be a lot safer for us. Hey when the iraq leader tells us they don't need us as a back up we will get out of there in a hurry. I see that happening in the next two years at the most.
The humans left Falluja most that are left now are not human the insuirgenst and the old Saddam forces and the criminal element.
I was right, you didn't understand. Just keep an eye on your own levels of unhumanity when you accuse your perceived enemies of being less than human.
When this and Korea and Iran are over I want us to be like France concerning the UN. Use the veto power and never use our troops to help in a UN operation except when the people that helped us need help.
Why are we replying to his posts? There are more than enough articulate and grown up posters from the right around here for us to be able to ignore the trash. Aren't there? Well, I concede it wouldn't be nearly as fun. Carry on.
Alright, I'm gonna respond to one of his posts. I don't know if you can argue that we would have less dead soldiers by now if we had done this in April and May. We lost nearly 200 in those two months and were making no headway whatsoever. If we had invaded then, and the losses kept up at the rate at that time, I believe we would have lost hundreds more before it was over. And Falluja is just one city, one of many currently acting as insurgent hotbead. It may be the most visible at the moment, but if you think that quashing the resistance there is going to make a large impact on the overall picture then you could be in for a dissapointment. Maybe not, and I would hope not, but I wouldn't bet change under your couch cushions on it if I were you. I also was reminded of a very good point for NOT continuing the assault on Falluja all those months ago. While I've argued that we should never have retreated in the way we did, it is also true that with the city filled to the brim with innocent civilians the body count on all three sides would have no doubt been quite a sh!tty number to read. At least now the place is nearly deserted and I can still agree that there is no better time than now to do things right given you can't change the past.
I just saw a US soldier (or marine or whatever - is there an umbrella term?) in Falluja on british TV who attached 2 horns to his helmet and stuck out his tongue. I googled but couldn´t find an image in the net. How can any officer allow his troops to wear that? I mean this guy made himself look like satan!! What kind of message is that?
I would be more concerned about the ppl (above all the innocent ones) who are dying there than what a frightened "out-of-his-head" US soldier wears, Domingo. Maybe he thinks that horns magically can protect him and looking very bad will scare the insurgents. The only hope is that that soldier doesn't share benito's views of the world and life.