AlpineK Posted May 19, 2003 Posted May 19, 2003 trask said: it was imperative in this time of terrorism that we show the world that we won't put up with this bullshit on our shores. the world NEEDED to see the kinda whoop-ass we can dole out btw, my kid just kicked ass on another punk that was a smart ass. 2 for 2 in a month. I bought him a Blink 182 CD as a prize. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia Al Quida is blowing the shit out of the place. Bush seems to think that a show of force is much more important than actually rooting out terrorists. Pagetop terror Quote
Fence_Sitter Posted May 19, 2003 Posted May 19, 2003 AlpineK said: trask said: it was imperative in this time of terrorism that we show the world that we won't put up with this bullshit on our shores. the world NEEDED to see the kinda whoop-ass we can dole out btw, my kid just kicked ass on another punk that was a smart ass. 2 for 2 in a month. I bought him a Blink 182 CD as a prize. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia Al Quida is blowing the shit out of the place. Bush seems to think that a show of force is much more important than actually rooting out terrorists. Pagetop terror yeah seriously....as long as they dont hit us...parle buomo Quote
Fairweather Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 catbirdseat said: We will only invade another country if Bush's approval ratings start to slip in the polls. Kind of like when "Slick Willie" blew up that aspirin factory in Sudan on the eve of the Monica scandal, eh? Your tunnel vision/hypocrisy/misplaced cynicism is showing again Catbird. Quote
AlpineK Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Fence_Sitter said: AlpineK said: trask said: it was imperative in this time of terrorism that we show the world that we won't put up with this bullshit on our shores. the world NEEDED to see the kinda whoop-ass we can dole out btw, my kid just kicked ass on another punk that was a smart ass. 2 for 2 in a month. I bought him a Blink 182 CD as a prize. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia Al Quida is blowing the shit out of the place. Bush seems to think that a show of force is much more important than actually rooting out terrorists. Pagetop terror yeah seriously....as long as they dont hit us...parle buomo They did kill 7 Americans, and they were targeting areas where Americans lived. Quote
glacierdog Posted May 20, 2003 Author Posted May 20, 2003 Alright, so my question is, how can we more effectively root out terrorists? A man by man wild goose chase is hardly effective. Where else would have been a better starting point than Iraq? Much criticism, but I'm not hearing a better course of action. Perhaps the cash spent on the war could have been used to improve homeland security, but the fact is there is no foolproof way to defend against an act of terrorism. It's hard enough to keep track of large groups of people. How can we expect to predict when one man will walk into a shopping mall with 30 sticks of homemade dynamite strapped to him? The idea is to deal with the larger groups that have funding and motivation to cause damage on a large scale. I can't think of a better way to go about this. Any thoughts, gents? Quote
lummox Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 glacierdog said: Alright, so my question is, how can we more effectively root out terrorists? A man by man wild goose chase is hardly effective. Where else would have been a better starting point than Iraq? Much criticism, but I'm not hearing a better course of action. Perhaps the cash spent on the war could have been used to improve homeland security, but the fact is there is no foolproof way to defend against an act of terrorism. It's hard enough to keep track of large groups of people. How can we expect to predict when one man will walk into a shopping mall with 30 sticks of homemade dynamite strapped to him? The idea is to deal with the larger groups that have funding and motivation to cause damage on a large scale. I can't think of a better way to go about this. Any thoughts, gents? the best revenge is living well. party on. Quote
Fence_Sitter Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 its hard to live well when you know that the space needle could fall on you at any moment Quote
Jim Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Hey dog - hope you're somewhat comfortable over there. The news media here has really backed off the coverage of what's going on over there now that the shooting is over. They're fickle and are shifting towards the politics of tax cuts, future elections, etc. Can't speak for anyone but myself so here's what I see lately. The Iraqis, for various reasons have looted their country of needed resources. Things that were needed for building an infrastructure of any government. It seems like a lot of good planning was in place for the war but not for the peace. Because of the looting and lack of security it's going to take a lot of our time an money to prop it back up. There's been no evidence of WMD, chemical weapons, neuclear capability, or evidence of support of terrorists so the reasons for going in in the first place are, well, what? Seems the neoconservatives in the Bush Admin have been pushing for this for a while. Are we any safer now that Iraq has fallen? I doubt it. Are the Iraqi people better off? Hopefully, but there will be some tough times in the short term. What I am sure of is that this adventure is costing us a huge chunk of change. That and the tax cuts recently passed will have us in the largest national debt for quite some time. Good luck to you and be safe. Sounds like things are not quite settled over there yet. Any word on how long you have to be there? Quote
iain Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 a marine friend of mine knows a bunch of people over there. says they have no plans on returning for quite some time. Quote
glacierdog Posted May 20, 2003 Author Posted May 20, 2003 I'm doing alright, everyone is a little edgy what with shit blowing up all around us. When I will get home, I don't know, but I should be leaving here sometime soonish. To politics: Not to sound like a blind nationalist drone, but I have a good deal of faith in Bush and Powell. This was re-inforced by a good friend of mine who recently had dinner with the POTUS. I don't see the man as a brilliant political mind. Call me a cynic, but that makes me trust him even more. I believe that the man is doing his best to live up to the oath he took. I have a gut that pretty much tells me when shit is out of whack, and it's been just fine through all of this. My gut isn't accredited, of course, but it hasn't steered me wrong yet. As for WMD, etc, I don't have the answer for that. That's above my clearance. If that money has you down, you might not be happy in the years to come. Operation Iraqi Freedom was step one. We yet have a long road to hoe. Quote
catbirdseat Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Fairweather said: catbirdseat said: We will only invade another country if Bush's approval ratings start to slip in the polls. Kind of like when "Slick Willie" blew up that aspirin factory in Sudan on the eve of the Monica scandal, eh? Yep, it's just like that. That was stupid too, and against the best interests of our country. Some would argue (not me) that even if it was an aspirin factory, it may have had a deterrent effect on further terrorist operations. By the way, I don't think it is simply cynicism. Bush is a true scoundrel, whereas Clinton was just a cagey horndog. Quote
Fence_Sitter Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 catbirdseat said: Fairweather said: catbirdseat said: We will only invade another country if Bush's approval ratings start to slip in the polls. Kind of like when "Slick Willie" blew up that aspirin factory in Sudan on the eve of the Monica scandal, eh? Yep, it's just like that. That was stupid too, and against the best interests of our country. Some would argue (not me) that even if it was an aspirin factory, it may have had a deterrent effect on further terrorist operations. By the way, I don't think it is simply cynicism. Bush is a true scoundrel, whereas Clinton was just a cagey horndog. you admit it was stupid to blow up the asprin factory and kill people... but you later say he is just a horn dog? why cant you just say clinton is a scoundrel? Quote
Jim Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Hey dog- One other item. Don't confuse any criticism of the politics with my view of the grunts. As usual, the guys on the lower end of the orders are doing their job the best they can. Hope you get back to enjoy the mountains soon. It's typical spring here 50 deg and cloudy. See any interesting snakes or reptiles? (sorry, had to ask) Quote
catbirdseat Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Fence_Sitter said: you admit it was stupid to blow up the asprin factory and kill people... but you later say he is just a horn dog? why cant you just say clinton is a scoundrel? People make mistakes. He acted on the advice of the same idiots in the Pentagon that are advising Bush. I don't regard Clinton as a scoundrel because he acted more often with the best interests of all the people in mind, whereas Bush only is interested in benefitting the wealthy and those who contributed to his campaign. We had 7 years of expanding economy under Clinton with little inflation. Now under Bush, we have the worst recession since the Nixon years and the prospect of deflation which hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. I have been unemployed for five months and for this I blame Bush. Prior to this time I have never been unemployed for longer than 6 weeks. He is pursuing many of the same trickle down policies that Herbert Hoover did in the depression. They didn't work then and they won't work now. Quote
Fence_Sitter Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 you changed the sugject...did waht clinton do, enable people to categorize him in the same way that the actions of bush's military actions enable you to categorize bush in such a way... i think they are both fucked up personally, i just cant see why you are ignoring the shortcommings of one because he is attachd to a certain party...or is there another reason!?!?! were there more than 2 in teh oval office that scandilous day!?!?! praytell!!! Quote
erik Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Fence_Sitter said: you changed the sugject...did waht clinton do, enable people to categorize him in the same way that the actions of bush's military actions enable you to categorize bush in such a way... i think they are both fucked up personally, i just cant see why you are ignoring the shortcommings of one because he is attachd to a certain party...or is there another reason!?!?! were there more than 2 in teh oval office that scandilous day!?!?! praytell!!! ANYTHING YOU TYPE FROM HERE ON OUT MEANS NOTHING.... Quote
Sloth_Man Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 I've read the political threads with some interest. I can say that for the most part folks here seem to be civil enough. Of course since I'm a pinko lefty it seems like the right wingers are quicker to come out with the 'you're stupid' or 'so what' kind of things. I do find it alarming how the major media sources abandoned the Iraq story and the whole WMD question as soon as the bulk of the shooting was over. I also think it's alarming how the whole behind the scenes with Bechtel etc.. is glossed over if covered at all, while some stupid harmless scandal like the Postmaster crap, or something more prurient like the Lacy whatsher name crap gets full 'all channel' coverage. There's definitely the appearance of complicity between the major media outlets and the shrubbery. It's got to be more than oversight when the shrubberies bogus leaks are spewed out big time with waving flags and shit, but the retraction three days later is in the little print scrolling accross the bottom. Well whatever, it's all the same old same old, but I don't see how Clinton keeps coming up. It reminds of the Reagan/Bush years when the 'conservatives' kept blaming Carter for shit 12 years after he left office. Can we get beyond that? He was a slimy bastard just like the rest of em Ok? Not a liberal, not an environmentalist, not a progressive, not a friend of the common man, just a slimy bastard that's passed from the scene, so can we put 'it' behind us allready, and address the current issues? Bringing up Clinton over and over again really sounds like 'conservatives' who don't have any response to many legitimate questions trying to sidetrack discussions into shouting matches and URL wars. Quote
Fairweather Posted May 21, 2003 Posted May 21, 2003 catbirdseat said: Fairweather said: catbirdseat said: We will only invade another country if Bush's approval ratings start to slip in the polls. Kind of like when "Slick Willie" blew up that aspirin factory in Sudan on the eve of the Monica scandal, eh? Yep, it's just like that. That was stupid too, and against the best interests of our country. Some would argue (not me) that even if it was an aspirin factory, it may have had a deterrent effect on further terrorist operations. By the way, I don't think it is simply cynicism. Bush is a true scoundrel, whereas Clinton was just a cagey horndog. So it doesn't bother you that he (Clinton/Horndog) sold missile staging technology to the Chineese Army for $200k in campaign contributions? That he turned down Sudan's offer to hand over Osama? That he tried to sieze control of our nations health-care system by holding closed door secret meetings? That he sold pardons to the highest bidder? ...."just a 'horndog'" 'eh? Shall I go on? GW is a model president compared to Clinton. Quote
glacierdog Posted May 21, 2003 Author Posted May 21, 2003 I actually caught a couple of gecko-like lizards when we started moving things around. Pretty neat little buggers. There are also some giant lizards out here, yellow bodies and green heads, but I haven't seen a live one yet. Just road kill. Believe it or not, there is an abundance of desert foxes out here. Saw plenty of those when I was still living in a tent. Quote
glacierdog Posted May 21, 2003 Author Posted May 21, 2003 I know I'm probably keying open Pandora's box with this, but what do you guys think we could be doing better? I'm getting the impression that everyone pretty much agrees that the growing terrorist population needs to be dealt with, but I'm not really hearing anything other than, "what is that yahoo shrub doing now?" Lot's of criticism, very little of it constructive. Quote
glacierdog Posted May 21, 2003 Author Posted May 21, 2003 I've also noticed that DFA hasn't chimed in here yet. Running out of words of discouragment, perhaps? Quote
erik Posted May 21, 2003 Posted May 21, 2003 how do you handle a situation in which you have no intel? Quote
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