If they were Taliban the officer who said leave them should be put in charge of latrine duty. ELP is right.

Sauron

The actual event was staged???????

Sauron

What part of “when Germany was still weak” do you not understand?

Sauron

Hurrifan

Talk about being defensive and offensive at the same time!

The only other comments I am inclined to make is to say yes, the UK and France with help from others like Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and then Czechosiovakia could have stopped Hitler if they had acted jointly when Germany was still weak. Instead they did nothing until it was too late and Hitler was able to pick them off one by one.

There is currently another war brewing and we all know who the enemy is and smart ass comments will not defeat them. Maybe enough of Europe and others will clue in eventually. At the moment NATO can’t even raise another 2500 solders for Afghanistan and the excuses are flying. I understand one NATO member says it’s military isn’t trained for combat so they can’t help. 🙁

Sauron

EN830

Perhaps I should not have used appeaser because that word reminds us all of a period in European history that most europeans are ashamed of and ironically led to the current view that most europeans currently have about the U.S. I guess ironic is the proper term due to the fact that friends have become the enemy and the enemy friends. You know… lets just forget about the U.S. role in WW2 and the cold war because the U.S. is a rouge nation and the biggest threat to world pease, etc, etc….

Given your comments about PM Chamberlin I suggest his actions of appeasing Hitler did as much or more for the German military not to mention what it ment for all those that he sold out.

You comment that “in comparison to Bush’s oil fuelled crusades of late, WW2 was a just war and had to be fought” is interesting. It suggests that your wars are justifiable requiring everyone, including and especially Americans, to come to your aid, but that U.S. wars are just for oil even though the oil goes mainly to others as in Europe and Japan, etc.

I agree with your comment that “No one in their right mind would appease terrorists” but that is exactly what is happening in the west including in the U.S. and Canada. All you have to do is review the reaction governments have to most of the terrorist attacks and plots. The police and civil protection forces do a good job but the governments bend over to the ethnic communities and groups that harbour and nurture the terrorists. In some cases, as in Spain, the government changes it’s foreign policy. In the U.S. the Democrate and their left-wing friends say it’s not fair to monitor terrorist telephone calls. (Is it also ironic when left wing groups rush to the defense of religious fanatics?)

Finally, regarding your suggestion that “by marching into Iraq, Bush has fuelled the extremists cause and ignited a war that he has no possible chance of winning.” So resistance is futile! Our enemies will hate us more! We have no chance of winning! Did they hate us less before they attacked on 9/11? Did they hate the Austrialian tourists in Bali before Oz joined the invasion of Iraq?

Sauron

Well I agree and unfortunately it dosn’t stop with just dressing them up.

Sauron

EN830

Did I make a claim or imply that there was (is) “a direct link with Saddam Hussains regime and the terrorist acts of 9/11 ????”

I do not believe GWB has ever claimed there was a direct or operational link between Saddam and the 9/11 attack. On the other hand, some un-named offical could have said it and Democrates in the U.S. sometime phrase remarks that imply that he did.

I have not read every page of the three reports you refer to but I believe they do provide details of contact with BL’s organization just not specifically 9/11.

I suspect the timing of the latest report had more to do with politics and attempting to embarrass Bush than anything else.

Sauron

Kevin

My change in attitude? Me ridicule! 😮 I thought our past debates were quite reasoned and polite on both our parts. Ridicule has it’s merits and my “attitude” is tame compared to many here. Anyway……

Your suggestion that intel followed up by surgical strikes would have been the more appropriate and effective way of responding to the 9/11 attacks, is one I have heard before and I am sure that in some cases when dealing with non governmental elements only, it has and could work effectively assuming that the intel is good and the followup accurate and pinpoint. Iraq would be the prime example of how pooling of the world’s intel resources can still result in faulty information and not just that of the CIA! Remember that the Taliban government supported the attack and it in turn was supported by Pakistan. One is, therefore, entitled to question the suggestion that anything less than a full military response to 9/11 would have been effective or taken seriously by anyone regardless of their opinion about the U.S.

While I am saddened every time we lose a solder, I support both our military and our reconstruction efforts. I worry about the final outcome not because the Afghans cannot create a strong and peaceful country but because I am not sure that NATO has the political will to commit the manpower, expense and time required. Currenty some countries that once made commitments to support the effort are backing down and others are refusing to let their troops actually join in the fight currenty being fought by UK, US and Canadian forces. Maybe the Poles will join in. Where are the Australians?

Not everyone in Canada supports our efforts in Afghanistan. Our left wing party (the NDP) true to form wants the troops out. They say our participation runs contrary to our long history of “peacekeeping”. No mention of our role in WW1, WW2, Korea, etc. They were against our participation in WW2 as well.

I can sympathize a bit with your comment “I wasn’t asked about whether I thought it was right to invade Iraq.” and I assume by other remarks, that goes for Afghanistan too. I surely do get pissed at some of the things my government does but that is the nature of democratic governments is it not? You voted, (I assume) so to that extent you participate in the decisions those MP’s make. Sure beats having the Kaiser, Hitler, Stalin, Saddam or the Taliban make them for us

Regards

Sauron