From what I understand, in the last few years the CIA has gotten out of the covert ops business, but are now going to be doing that once again.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CRitchie
[B]
My worry is which country is next.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ElTianti
[B]




Were it I, the aforementioned countries would be suffering from a

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sunchild
[B]The recent interview with Bin Laden indicated (according to the totally biased and unreliable interviewer) that surrender of Kabul could be a trap.

 

I don't think we know enough about Afghani loyalties to make a call here. Don't forget that the majority of Taliban are southern Afghani's. They are very opportunistic, and very often switch sides rapidly when the battle is not going there way, as seen now. The Taliban made a critical error when the killed Haq, as he was deeply loved in the south. Many say he was not executed, as his body reportedly had hundreds of bulletholes. Something like this is just the straw to cause dissent in the Taliban ranks.

It should be noted that the NA are primarily killing Arabs, Pakistanis and Kashir rebels who were fighting amongst the Taliban. Honestly, after the hardships they've endured, it's hard not to see why they would want to do this, given their beloved leader was assassinated. Revenge is a very powerful motive - right or wrong.

I believe the Taliban will fall quite possibly before winter.

But this is really just the beginning of the war against terrorism. The US needs to aggressively root out the Al Queada leaders hiding in Afghanistan and execute them on the spot. Cutting the head off the organization may very well prevent future mass scale attacks like we saw in September.

 

Well you just can't go around knocking off leaders (good or bad) of countries. If you knock-off Saddam then whoever or whatever government takes his place must be in the best interest and acceptable to that country and the world. We may not like Saddam but he is under control. Killing him could cause more damage than leaving him in power. This is why assassinating leaders is so frowned upon as a strategic or tactical plan. You knock-off Saddam and put Iraq in turmoil, suddenly Iran sees an opportunity to take them on in a war. Suddenly the delicate balance of power in the region changes and all hell breaks loose.

There is also a prime directive of sorts of live and let live. Let the people govern themselves. That is what uprisings are all about. Some (Bin Laden) would say it is the US's meddling in that region that got us attacked in the first place. (That is not my opinion, just simply an observation.) These same people see our attacks on the Taliban as more meddling. (Again not my opinion.)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ElTianti
[B]

Iraq, UAE and other have been involved in attacks on the United

 

I'm sure that El Tianti and others have their tongue firmly in their cheek with the 'nuke em' posts. I'm no 'Turn the other cheek' merchant when it comes to terrorism of this magnitude, for my one eye I'll take two in return, every time, but let's not forget that since the very first atom bomb explosion at Bikini Atoll, every living creature, including you and I, contains a measurable amount of Strontium 90. It's in every tree, every blade of grass.The Bikini Atoll bomb and others since were squibs compared to what is lying waiting to be unleashed now.

As Jeff said, we can all be grateful that sanity has prevailed at several flashpoints in history since then. These weapons are the holocaust , 'Apocalypse Now' and little or no future for this planet. Let's hope the rumours that Bin Laden has access to nuclear weapons is unfounded. If ever there was a person capable of starting such a holocaust without a care for the consequences it's him!

 

I would not be so sure, I know some people who genuinely advocate this sort of action.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CRitchie
[B]Well you just can't go around knocking off leaders (good or bad) of countries. If you knock-off Saddam then whoever or whatever government takes his place must be in the best interest and acceptable to that country and the world. We may not like Saddam but he is under control. Killing him could cause more damage than leaving him in power. This is why assassinating leaders is so frowned upon as a strategic or tactical plan. You knock-off Saddam and put Iraq in turmoil, suddenly Iran sees an opportunity to take them on in a war. Suddenly the delicate balance of power in the region changes and all hell breaks loose.


Hey, Im not talkin about knocking anyone off here. Accidents happen and people's health just fail sometimes. You think Saddam has any "best" interest in the United States?