Well I have some further ideas, that would surely get europe out of the targeting sights of islamic terrorists.

The simple solution is to stay out of their areas of interest.

I do not care what is happening in Afghanistan nor did I care about Iraq. We should also get out of the whole middle east trouble spot. Just end support to all sides and let them fight it out. The fortress idea will work better, then playing world police men. There are too many people out there that hate the west at the moment. No chnace in hell we will ever get them all, so the best thing is to keep them out of europe.

Attacks on tourists in arabic nations don´t bother me. There is a simple solution, don´t go there. If we europeans are not welcome, then we can spent our money inside the european community. Let those countries see how they will do without the money.

Honestly I think. pulling troops from Afghanistan and Iraq is a wise move anyway. Those are not places europeans do belong.

I would rather concentrate on finding the terrorists already living in europe, instead of playing savior of the arab world.

It is time that the Russians show them a real airspace violation. Best think would be a regiment of SU-27.

Originally posted by SOC
I do agree that OIF is taking resources away from other areas which need to be addressed-namely a blockade and potential assault on Central and Latin America to obliterate drug producers and those that support them, an arming of the US border with Mexico, and a more organized and thorough hunt for OBL and his cronies.

In hindsight though, with all them nasty not-so-smart bombs running around detonating things in Iraq, maybe it does fall under the war on terrorism now. Not saying that it necessarily did before, but you could certainly make a case for it presently.

Yep, now OIF is part of the war against terror, but I think it is because the US came to Iraq and all those fanatics scrambled out of their ****holes in the arab world and went to Iraq to fight the evil crusaders.
Honestly speaking I think if one would have convinced Saddam to destroy such groups his security services would have done that very quick and efficent.
If we would be looking at regimes that are supporting such terrorists the west would have to invade nearly half of the arab world and Saudi Arabia would be on the the No.1 spot. Ironically the same country the West protected from Saddam for years.

At the moment I just hope the US has the will power to finish OIF and helps to built an new free Iraq, that will be an example in the region. My biggest fear is that after the next election we will see a withdraw of US interests and troops and Iraq will be left to the mercy of the local fanatic groups.

And that is why I fear the next elections in the US. Bush is a texas ranger when it comes to world politics, while Kerry is known to have no firm opinion, he just goes with the flow of public opinion. (being a proud Nam hero and yet acting against the war in Nam during those times)

Originally posted by SOC

Join the club. My opinions on Iraq and the current administration notwithstanding, the US political process does need some help.

Luckily you did take my comment the right way, it did sound so anti american, which i´m surely not.

But there are big mistakes made in the US currently.

Afghanistan was a must. We needed to take the safe place of Al Qaeda.

Iraq on the other hand, should have been done years ago or never. And it should not have been linked to the war on terror. OIF is draining resources that would be much better spent on exterminating islamic terrorists worl wide, instead of creating a new training ground for such organisations. Furthermore it fuels support for those fanatics in the arab world.
And it is time that the US tells Israel that it is not going to pay for their mistakes for longer. The west must make sure Israel will survive, but it must not accept every action Israel takes.
I can´t understand the US. If you look at the technology transfer Israel is having with China for example, you must wonder if the support is such a good idea.

America has been the land of the brave and the free, but at the moment it seems to me like the land of narrow minded conservatives.
And even domestic US problems are hard to understand for me. (abortion discussion)

What a senseless discussion.

Mentioning China in connection with the F-22 does not neccessarily mean China is seen as an enemy. But China will/has become another source for modern 4th generation fighter aircraft. It is a sterling example of a successfull modernisation of armed forces, that were obsoletet to a large extent only a decade ago.

With advanced fighter types becoming more and more widespread the margin of the F-15 to outclass those planes has already disappeared. And that is enough of a reason to buy F-22, especially as the US warfighting machine depends on air superiority achieved by fighters.

Furthermore the US has allies in the region, that are watching Chinas ambition to become the leading regional power with mistrust. So the US must prepare for the unlikely chnace of a conflict with China.

Well to be exact they only must do so because of their world domination ambitions, that are formed by their governments. And in that case the best political reasoning for the F-22 is to create a strong enemy, that warrants the purchase.

But US politics make me sick anyway. 😡

A new picture from my collection 😀