You've read the rants... You're confused as hell....

Now play the game!

GULF WAR 2

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ElTianti
[B]

Unfortunately, it's more likely the opposite is true.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ElTianti
[B]The "War-for-oil" claim is so stupid I find it hard to imagine anyone believes it.

 

I was starting to think that maybe GWB was having too much of a hard line stance for the current situation in both theaters... until I did a little research. Being hard line is the ONLY way to deal with both of these tyrannical leaders. You wouldn't like to see what happens if we took a passive attitude and waited for the "I told you so...".

 

For those of you who have any doubts on whether or not we need to take out Saddam:


Watch this.


And that's what a very small one will do. Imagine that in your backyard.

 

The more I analyze this situation the more I realize this is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. Sending an army into Iraq to kill and displace hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iraqi citizens is one thing.

Pissing off Arabs is another, which will happen if this is not pulled off extremely tactfully (good luck George). There are always going to be fanatics, fanatics with the power to brainwash young impressionable minds into making certain choices.

Let's try putting our minds into someone else's:

You're an 17 year old Saudi Arabian peasant that lives in an extremely poor village. Your family & friends have dealt with a lack of food, water, shelter and clothing, as they have for thousands of years. For the last several months you and your family have been fearfully waiting for the cloud of war to loom over a neighboring land, a land that literally breeds chaos inside it and around it. The only thing you have to hold onto is the promise that when you die you will live in the lap of luxury, riches, and 72 virgins.

You hear talk of a training camp a couple hundred miles from the village you grew up in, a camp that promises young men like yourself an opportunity to do something important. You are warned by a man older and more intelligent than yourself that the United States and Israel want to destroy Islam, and that they must be destroyed first. You are told that the United States wants to kill all Muslims and capture Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. You are told these things every day. Your ideas and views change. Your mind is filled with this hatred, and your ultimate goal in life becomes the destruction of as many Israeli and American lives as possible.

You and your fellow students would obey any instructions that came from your leader. If he asked you to put a bomb on your body and explode it, you wouldn't say no, and neither would your peers.

How do you change this? How do you remove this propaganda (that we as Americans are subject to as well, but does not lead to us killing people in the name of our religion)?

And just to add icing to the cake, North Korea, a country whose economy pulls in nearly $1 billion a year in black market arms sales, the country responsible for leaking nuclear secrets to Pakistan (which I'm sure we'll have to deal with the consequences later, especially if man like Musharraf is in power), was confronted with evidence that they have deceitfully broken the Non Proliferation Treaty signed in 1994. I wonder what the price tag is on one of those? I wonder who can afford it and would make use of it? Deny it all you want, some MAJOR shit is about to go down that will make September 11th look like a walk in the park. It might not happen in this country, and I emphasise might, but this is not going to just "go away". Even if we managed to talk THIS GUY

into abandoning his nuclear weapons program and handing over his warheads ( ), or at the very least, have his country, the country that he has absolute control over, invaded by Coalition forces as 950,000 North Korean infantry armed with Vietnam-era weapons defends it, for the sole purpose of having our demands met, as America hopes that all of the warheads are contained and none are fired at neighboring cities like Tokyo ( ). And then, of course, is Pakistan and India, two nuclear powers that exchange mortar fire and verbal taunts on a daily basis. If North Korea is the icing on the cake then this is the ing cherry because this is not going to just go away.

All of the world's problems come down to 3 human characteristics: Greed, anger, and stupidity.

How do you remove greed, anger, and stupidity? Removal of these three qualities requires the sort of confidence that comes from finding truth from within yourself, and the courage, compassion, and wisdom that come with it.

How do you instill confidence into people? You don't. Islam and even Christianity are opiates of the masses that have been used by persons in power to take advantage of the common people for thousands of years. These two religions preach the existence of a supernatural being that controls everything. Islam and Christianity instill fear into people, even the fear of questioning the existence of the supernatural being they are living their lives to please. Why do people believe this? They are taught it. It has been a part of their lives since day one. For those of you offended by this, ask yourselves one question: What is the difference between blind faith and gullibility?

If everyone on the planet were to find truths from within themselves, to really use the analytical part of their brain and realize that other people are not good or evil, that they are just exposed to different experiences in their lives which in turn shape their character, they would develop a feeling of human compassion that is absolutely necessary for World Peace.

So, in my eyes, the world has 3 options:

1. We continue on our course.

2. Every single human being on this planet WAKES UP and realizes that greed, anger, and stupidity amongst everyone has lead the world into a road of catastrophe, and realizes that some "other things" like the health of the planet Earth, world peace, and human happiness are important. We remove the concept that MONEY = HAPPINESS from our brains, and we develop views that come from within ourselves. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair make it absolutely clear that we do not hate Arabs or their religion. We STOP RETALIATING and HOPE THAT BRAINWASHED ARABS STOP KILLING PEOPLE. We stop agreeing with everything we hear from government officials on TV and, as I've said before, develop compassion for others.

3. Genocide.


Now, option 2 would be nice, but how can that ever happen?


If I told you all I'd feel like I was trying to sell something, so I'll wait to see if anyone cares.

 

humans in general are creatures of habit. Things will not change unless properly motivated, whether through internal or external motivation each individual would need to experience a paradigm shift. One thing kazynsky wrote in his manifesto is that it would take a violent rebellion to change the course of society...and I tend to agree on that point.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Big L
[B]

China's entire military deployment and build up has been one of a defensive nature. The backbone military equipment China uses today are mostly meant for short to medium range defensive wars. They are not build up to achieve a global military force that can be deployment worldwide like the US or the old USSR. The PLA's navy consist of primarily light to medium frigates and destoryers which are not meant for offensive deployments. I think China does not want a nuclear armed power on its northern boarders nor does Russia. Especially with Beijing within few hundred miles for NK, short enough for the medium range missles that NK have. Besides, China is so focused on the Economy and Taiwan, it will probably use some back channel to tell NK to pipe down.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lee355
[B]So, in my eyes, the world has 3 options:

1. We continue on our course.

2. Every single human being on this planet WAKES UP and realizes that greed, anger, and stupidity amongst everyone has lead the world into a road of catastrophe, and realizes that some "other things" like the health of the planet Earth, world peace, and human happiness are important. We remove the concept that MONEY = HAPPINESS from our brains, and we develop views that come from within ourselves. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair make it absolutely clear that we do not hate Arabs or their religion. We STOP RETALIATING and HOPE THAT BRAINWASHED ARABS STOP KILLING PEOPLE. We stop agreeing with everything we hear from government officials on TV and, as I've said before, develop compassion for others.

 

Retired Navy Intel officer here.
So many opinions based on hope and dreams (not a bad thing mind you) but unfortunately, not prudent in the current world. Disarmament follows peace, peace does not follow disarmament. Option 2 is simply not practical when you're dealing with men with such hideously grotesque value systems. We can not allow history to repeat itself (pre-WWII in Europe) by allowing Saddam carte blanche interaction with fellow terrorists. My only hesitation with supporting the effort surely to begin in a month or two is I would like to see Bush speak to the American people and provide us, and the world, with the "smoking gun intel" that is probably going to be required for other countries to jump on board (or at the very least), support US-efforts. Without a presentation to the American people, despite the best of intentions and moral high ground, the US will be seen as the "big bully" once again and the cycle of anti-American violence will continue. Any military man who has spent time overseas will tell you that for the most part, the world loves Americans but hates America. It is our government's responsibility to begin this war not with a declaration of intent, rather a demonstration of reason. Most other dissenting folks who fully support our men and women in the Armed Forces but are hesitant on supporting this effort simply want to see MORE PROOF. I realize there are security concerns and its obvious you cannot open up an entire intelligence program to CNN but just as JFK showed the American citizenry satellite photos of missles in Cuba, we need to see the carrot which powers the horse.
As for North Korea, it really is not an issue which resonates with the same urgency as Iraq simply because NK is essentially just posturing for more financial aid from the US to help their crippling economy. A "backdoor" deal will be struck to calm all the sabre rattling but the tightrope Bush and Powell must walk in order to maintain "face" will be interesting to watch unfold. We all know there will be some agreement but how will it be accomplished without motivating other malcontents to act as North Korea has done? "Give us more money or we make more nukes!"
The one thing that scares me most about NK is the fact that they have the material, the motive and the connections to trade weapons for money. A bad combination for trouble but as unlikely as it seems, China will assist the US in slapping the ass of these brats and by the middle of the year, I see Bush enjoying the fruits of a successful war campaign but the impending difficulities of establishing a new government in the region will take its toll on an administration that has faired horribly with the economy. Bush the son will no doubt, follow in the footsteps of his father. In the eyes of history, both the father and son's legacy will be highlighted by successful war campaigns yet overshadowed by the sputtering economy that defined their tenure. It's apparent from recent popularity polls that the security blanket Bush has enjoyed from his post 9-11 flag waiving, terrorist-chasing "to do" list is quickly wearing thin with an American populace that is staring at a $300B deficit. At the risk of melodrama, I highly doubt someone standing outside in the cold of an unemployment line is basking in the warm glow of a non-nuclear Iraq. This is what Clinton so effectively understood. As yucked up as he was in other areas of thought and reason, he knew it always "came down to the economy stupid."
OK, I'm off my soapbox now.