Thak god you're in the Navy, I was thinking you were being sarcastic or looking down on our deploying of troops there.
One whole paragraph points out: "No Westerners are yet known to have been hurt in the five days of fighting." Who gives a fvck??? I might cry over children as opposed to adults, but Westerners vs non-Westerners? Lovely. Robert
Not at all, IMO this is what the US military needs to be doing more of--protecting US citizens, as opposed to getting involved in local tribal wars (such as in Somalia). IMO we should use military operations to protect American citizens everywhere, especially when Americans are taken hostage (I'm aware that is not the situation in the Ivory Coast); when this happens, we inform the local government that either they get our people back or we're going to do it ourselves. There is no excuse for allowing Americans to be held, for instance, in the jungles of the Phillipines for over a year. Alex
So? Are you saying an ignorant audience or one that likes the there's us and then there's them way of reading things?
Even though terrorists are known to be in Somalia? After seeing what Carter did in the sands to get our folks out of Iran and the deaths of Americans in the Phillipines while "we" tried to rescue them, it sure is a different role for our military. Sure, Grenada was glorified training, but what exactly did we do in Panama? Secured of drug trade? Americans who work, travel in other nations need to take Dept. of State alerts and warnings seriously. They need to understand that US troops are not always going to come and save them. Then again, what exactly is our military or even our administration doing for US citizen children in Saudi Arabia who canot be reunited with their American mothers?
I just have problem with the choice of words, not the reason for US involvement! The kids thing though is a good front, so as not to make it too obvious.
This reminds me of a good Bill Mahr joke. During the month following Princess Diana's death the ubiquitous coverage and tributes was suffocating. So, when a ferry sank off the shore of Haiti killing 200 people, Mahr quiped, "Yesterday, in Haiti, a ferry sank killing 200 people. However, disaster was avoided when it turned out that none of them was a princess." Great line. Murf
Of course we do. We bailed them out in WWII. We took over their war in Vietnam. We took over their support of Israel...putain de merde! We're always bailing them out! Next thing you know we'll be letting Landon Donovan become a Frenchman so they can avenge their humiliation from this past summer.
The next paragraph points out: "Far more exposed are immigrants..." Anyway, much of article is oriented toward providing a reason as to why only 200 troops are being sent. Thus, if westerners, such as Americans, were being threatened or hurt they'd be sending thousands. I don't think a different value place on western vs. non-western lives was intended or even unconciously implied.
If you had a friend or relative in the Ivory Coast who you hadn't had contact with recently, wouldn't you appreciate the article going out of its way to point out the lack of Western deaths? Alex
Who said my friend's a Westerner? At least as bungadiri points out the article is not intended to place a different value on Western vs. non-Western lives. I don't think it intends to either.
Schoolchildren evacuated: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/ivorycoast020925.html While pleased that the kids will be okay, Ivory Coast is near the bottom of places I'd like to be right now. From what I read, it sounds like it's becoming more and more like Sierra Leone every day.
Nope, that was Rhodesia. Then Mugabe liberated it and brought many great things like famine and AIDS.
My bad, thought it just said Africa. In any case, it's nice to see that despite all the cultural differences around the world, there's one thing that binds us together: xenophobia. Apparently, the migrant workers are being blamed for the putsch.
How the hell is the discussion showing xenophobia? There are raging civil wars an coup attempts in Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone right now. That's a FACT. Lots of killing and bloodshed. Therefore, those two countries are not places I'd want to be right now, where your life is in far greater danger than it is at home. Just percentages and average alone.
I think he was saying that xenophobia is a root cause of the current conflict, not this discussion. Feel free to peruse the politics forum for ripe examples of xenophobia, homophobia, racism, class envy, sexism, anti-semitism and isolationism.
You really should've read more about this situation and/or read my post more carefully. I was commenting on the fact that the gov't of Coté D'Ivoire has blamed migrant workers from Burkina Faso for what's happening. I was just amazed at how no matter what part of the world you're talking about, you'll always find people willing to blame 'foreigners' for their problems.
Gotcha, I misread it bit by not paying enough attention to the migrant workers comment. That's what I get for posting before finishing my morning coffee.