04-03-2006, 04:00 PM | #101 |
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I wonder what the reaction would have been if we handled Afghanistan the same way we handled Iraq, before 9/11. If we put sanctions on the Taliban, demanding they turn over Bin Laden and they continued to refuse until we decided to invade to take him out. How many people would be saying that we were unjustified invading, that Bin Laden was not a threat to us?
It's a hard line to see between when pre-emptive action is necessary and when it is already too late.
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04-03-2006, 04:09 PM | #102 | |
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Iran has had parades where the stars were missiles with names of Israeli targets painted on them. Lots of rejoicing. |
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04-03-2006, 05:07 PM | #103 | |
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/snark What's your solution Ryche, invade every country that looks at us cross-eyed? Here is the thing you disregard: our response to 9/11 has cost several times over in human life the cost of 9/11 and several times over the financial cost of 9/11. So it makes no sense to pre-emptively go after every single person who says a bad word about us, because we'll come out behind every time. And the more pissed off people we invade, the more people are going to be pissed off at us! And we can't even fight the wars we are in now! I don't understand what your rationale is. |
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04-03-2006, 05:24 PM | #104 | |
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Sounds to me like there's some bad blood between Israel and Iran! |
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04-03-2006, 09:39 PM | #105 | |
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A 3rd war against another perceived threat to the US? I think the US would get a much stronger response this time from the rest of the world, especially if not sanctioned by the UN (toothless though it may be). The perception given to the rest of the world is that the US is taking pre-emptive strikes against Muslim countries who may or may not be a real threat at this time. This will undoubtedly lead to ME countries becoming concerned whether they are next in line as a perceived threat. Where will it stop? Is Syria next? Will only the extremely moderate ME countries be left alone, i.e. perceived US cronies like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait? As a political decision, another war would be disastrous for the US I believe. Also, it essentially means no ME country could ever develop nuclear power if they wished because there's always a concern the US will view that as a clandestine nuclear arms program. Would they then have to seek US approval before doing so or risk the threat of war? It begins to appear a lot like colonialism |
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04-03-2006, 10:04 PM | #106 | |
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Yup Between Iran and one of our allies. When a nation's leader essentially comes down on the side of evil, and that is pretty much what we are saying that Iran's Kahmeni(sp?) has done, then yes I feel our nation should do something about it. At the very least we have to draw a line in the sand and tell them not to cross it. I don't know how to do that effectively in Iran's case. The whole world needs to bring whatever pressure they can to bear on Iran right now. Well either that or we wash our hands of the problem and let the Israelis handle it. It comes down to one of the primary sentiments regarding the removal of Saddam in Iraq. When we witness wrongdoing, and have the power to intercede, we have the responsibility to intercede. That is why I'm about as anti-isolationist as they come, and actually fervently believe that the US needs to act as the world's defacto police force. We need to be willing to do what is right, even when it is hard. |
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04-03-2006, 10:28 PM | #107 |
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the "g" missing in the thread title annoys me.
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04-03-2006, 10:29 PM | #108 | |
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04-03-2006, 10:39 PM | #109 | |
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World's dictator? Where did that come from? I mean I honestly believe the US earnestly tries to do the right thing when they intervene in the affairs of others whether it is in Kosovo or Iraq. I really believe that we are the good guys. White hats and all. |
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04-03-2006, 10:45 PM | #110 | |
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Really? How is interfering in Taiwan justifiable then? How about the disputes between North Korea and South Korea? I would argue that the US has its own political considerations when it picks its allies but that doesn't necessarily make the US right all the time. How was the war in Iraq justified? The purported WMDs that prompted the war have never surfaced and it appears they may never have existed. The "something or other" Report suggests that the US/UK intelligence knew this but deliberately started the war anyway. |
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04-03-2006, 10:50 PM | #111 |
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don't get me wrong, i don't mind the US going to war with Iran - provided we have the backing of the world and more allies (specifically more allies willing to send troops along with ours). but for us to think we can go start another war *on our own* is just pure lunacy. we're good, but not that good. we can't fight another PR war like we've done with Iraq, we'd have to get in to Iran, do it and do it decisively and not leave any scraps for the dogs. i'm talking collateral damage and all.
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04-03-2006, 10:54 PM | #112 |
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i see "attackin" and for some reason I immediately think Anakin, like Skywalker. killin me.
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04-03-2006, 10:55 PM | #113 |
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here ya go Flasch:
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04-03-2006, 11:09 PM | #114 | |
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04-04-2006, 12:33 AM | #115 | |
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Hey didn't you read/hear Tony Blair's speach? What the Hell does the world know? We've got the right of this. |
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04-04-2006, 12:45 AM | #116 | |
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China v Taiwan I give you Tiananmen square. North Korea v South Korea I give you Kim Jung il (no way I'm spelling that right) I don't think picking sides in either of those cases is all that tough. The WMDs was only one of the cited reasons. The others have stood up to the test of time. I don't think I'm familiar with the "something or other" report, but I somehow don't think it means what you think it means, because I haven't seen anything official remotely close to making that declaration. |
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04-04-2006, 01:11 AM | #117 | |
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Edit: Fixed. Last edited by rexallllsc : 04-04-2006 at 01:13 AM. |
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04-04-2006, 01:26 AM | #118 | |
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China v Taiwan: Tianamen cannot be used to justify the US's position on this. Tianamen was a protest against the then China government and was in no way associated directly with the Taiwanese government's position that they are an independent nation from China. The only thing that can be said about Tianamen is that it was a gross abuse of human rights at the time but this, in itself, is irrelevant to Taiwan. Taiwan was awarded to China after World War II. However, Taiwan declared independence after the Kuomingtang, the former ruling party in China, left China when they lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communists (if I remember right). The Chinese government therefore view Taiwan as a rebel country and are perhaps not unjustified in their outlook. The US has decided to support Taiwan, even though Taiwan is not a recognised country in the UN. Fairly or unfairly, one perception is that the US are using Taiwan as a means to keep China in check as well as to prevent bloodshed in the region. Is this acceptable? Perhaps. But is it the US's role? Probably not. As for the justification for war in Iraq: Bear in mind the US did it without sanction from the UN. It was, essentially, a unilateral declaration of war on the basis that Iraq had refused to comply with UN Security Resolution No. 1441. While Iraq may not have complied strictly with the Resolution, the US gave an ultimatum to Iraq at the time, even though the UN team on the ground asked for more time. Various official inquiries have since cast into doubt the US and UK's decision in this respect. There is evidence that US and UK intelligence knew their basis for declaring war was untrue. See the Hutton Inquiry, the Butler Review and the Duelfer Report. Hence the suggestion that the US should be the world's police force is one that many nations would find unpalatable. |
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04-04-2006, 02:08 AM | #119 |
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"The US is the world's dictator."
Sheesh. That's rich. Iraq sits on a bajillion gallons of oil. We spend a bajillion dollars liberating the country, and we haven't touched a drop of it. In fact, on the contrary - we're taking it up the keister at the gas pump. If we were dictators, we'd taked the bloody oil, tell the middle east to suck it, and drive our SUV's at ten cents a gallon. In fact, I almost wouldn't mind this. Almost. |
04-04-2006, 03:29 AM | #120 | |
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I'm still curious as to what you meant by Iraq 'not being as bad as the biased media' would like us to think. |
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04-04-2006, 03:30 AM | #121 | |
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04-04-2006, 03:59 AM | #122 | ||||||||
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04-04-2006, 08:38 AM | #123 | |
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Funny, I never advocated invading anyone. I was just making a point that there is a thin and often invisiable line between doing something too soon and doing something too late. For the record, I don't think this is worth invading or attacking Iran over. I don't really think we have the right to dictate whether a nation can or cannot possess nuclear weapons. Maybe read a little closer before jumping to your conclusions.
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04-04-2006, 11:39 AM | #124 | |
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Tiananmen square is all the evidence that I need to backup Taiwan when it says it wants to remain apart from China. On Iraq. I might have to do some digging into the reports you cite, but at first blush, the assertion that the US/UK knew that there weren't WMDs in Iraq seems specious at best. Without seeing the actual material, I'd be almost willing to bet that you are stating a biased interpretation of those reports. It seems many folks are willing to make great leaps with regards to this subject. I'm basing this on the fact that official reports making those findings would have made the news. Regarding the UN and Iraq. Hey some renegade leader thumbs his nose at the UN for a dozen years, flaunting his disregard for the world body. I say that world body has to stand up and deal with the issue. Too bad the French decided that they'd rather send the UN down the path of the League of Nations. |
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04-04-2006, 12:14 PM | #126 | |
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I disagree with the idea that Taiwan is "right" to declare its independence because of China's past record. What is being advocated when such a concept is applied is that it is fine for a nation to break away from where it belongs so long as the original nation had some history of poor human rights. Bear in mind that China has never done anything overt against Taiwan. Also reference how Hong Kong is still doing fine, even though it's now part of China. Again, there is no reason for the US to support Taiwan in its claim for independence, much the same way the US did not support in such an express manner, if at all, East Timor's claim for independence from Indonesia. As for human rights, the argument could be made that the US is just as guilty of it at this present time, considering how it treated Iraqi prisoners of war. As for the Reports mentioned, feel free to check them out . I actually read the entire Hutton Inquiry because I was supposed to do a presentation on it. While its scope is limited (it was in relation to the suicide of someone involved in the decision making process leading to the war), the revelations in there made it clear that the US and UK intelligence knew, or had strong reason to suspect, that WMDs were not present in Iraq at the time. |
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04-04-2006, 12:38 PM | #127 | ||
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I call complete BS on this. The US prosecuted the individuals responsible for the treatment of those prisoners. Not even a scratch on our human rights record. Quote:
I think you and I have distinctly different understandings of the word "clear". |
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04-04-2006, 12:52 PM | #128 | ||
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Umm.. I'm pretty sure he's talking about Gitmo (sp?) not Abu Grave(sp?)...
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04-04-2006, 12:58 PM | #129 | ||
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04-04-2006, 01:07 PM | #130 | |
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04-04-2006, 01:10 PM | #131 | ||
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Hmm.. you might be right and i'm jumping two steps ahead... ...
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04-04-2006, 01:46 PM | #132 | |
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04-04-2006, 01:51 PM | #134 | |
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2) Our situation with Saudi Arabia is a hell of a lot better than our situation with Iran. Irrefutable evidence: that this discussion thread exists. It's also better than if SA was complete chaos after we went in and killed a couple hundred thousand. |
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04-04-2006, 03:05 PM | #135 |
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Wow, does anybody on this board actually know anything about Taiwan, and the US position? Judging from this thread, I don't think so.
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04-04-2006, 04:15 PM | #136 | |
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Does anybody on this board know anything about anything? |
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04-04-2006, 07:04 PM | #137 | |
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That's a good point. |
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04-04-2006, 07:08 PM | #138 | ||
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04-04-2006, 07:10 PM | #139 | |
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My mouth dropped open in shock as well. Whether you talk Gitmo or Abu Gharib, the US's reputation for human rights in dealing with prisoners is damaged almost beyond repair around the world!! The US's human rights record is not only scratched, it has a near fatal wound, that we need to treat immediately!
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04-04-2006, 07:20 PM | #140 |
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No, this is more like my jaw dropping, partly because the left is apparently now FOR nuclear proliferation, and partly because nobody understands the US position re: Taiwan. |
04-04-2006, 07:36 PM | #141 | |
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04-04-2006, 07:40 PM | #142 | |
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That's not nearly loony enough. Who are you and what have you done with my cat? |
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04-04-2006, 08:03 PM | #143 | |
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I might have simplified my assessment for multiple reasons...communication of a significant point in a few words one of them. The US has a "one China" policy. The US states that Taiwan is part of China, and we don't want either party to try and change that situation. That said, the US has a whole different set of entities that deal with Taiwan distinctly from China. So officially the United States regards Taiwan as part of China...wink wink nudge nudge. |
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04-04-2006, 08:06 PM | #144 | |
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Hey I'm talking the factual record. What the United States stands for with regard to human rights. You guys are talking about perception. Perception may be reality, but I question the bias of those forming that perception. The government didn't sanction nor condone the mistreatment of at Abu Ghraib(sp?). In fact, the US has punished the perpetrators. |
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04-04-2006, 08:08 PM | #145 | |
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Hmm to me, I think Blair quite soundly defended both his country's actions and those of the United States. |
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04-04-2006, 10:50 PM | #146 | |
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04-05-2006, 01:07 AM | #147 | |
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Plagarist! You didn't attribute me in the second quote. I shouldn't be surprised. |
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04-05-2006, 04:35 AM | #148 | ||
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04-05-2006, 12:51 PM | #149 | |
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Call me a monster if you want, but we are at war. In war it is our responsibility to be concerned about the lives of our countrymen, because we are the only ones who ARE concerned about them. Do you think the Iraqis give a hearty damn about when a soldier dies over there? No. And for the record, when I say "bleeding heart", I'm think of the same type of people who called Vietnam veterans "baby killers" when they came home, the same type of people who accuse our solders of mishandling women and of human rights violations in Iraq. The people who have NO CONCERN about our solders over there, they are only concerned about the lives of our enemies. How many names of Viet Cong solders are listed on the Vietnam Memorial? How many Germans fighting for the Nazi's are listed in the WWII Memorial? None. So, while in a perfect world no one died in war, and no one, Iraqi or American have to die, that's simply not the case here. I damn sure would rather see Iraqis die than American soldiers. So if that makes me a monster, than that's what I am. Ask someone who lost a family member in Iraq if they feel the same. Ask them if they're more concerned about the lives of Iraqis than the soldiers over there. Some of you need to re-evaluate your fucking priorities.
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04-05-2006, 12:52 PM | #150 | |
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I agree at least one of us does. |
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