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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

Well, McBush did say he was willing to wait a hundred years in order bring Dubya's "We'll stand down whenever you poor lil'Iwaqis get around to standing up, so take your time" plan into fruition.

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

Better that than the 'cut and run' policy of the Dems. - That would be a disater and see Islamic terrorists creeping their way back to your homeland.

So if you want to loose the war on terror - vote BO.

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Russian Imperialism is a greater danger to the World today than AlQueda terrorism

Just a random question, What exactly did Saddam Hussein have to do with terrorism? How was the invasion of Iraq an extension of the War on Terror? I've never seen any compelling evidence to suggest that Huessein's dictatorship had anything to due with 9/11. No I'm not saying he was a nice person but I don't think it is the role of the United States to invade sovereign nations without the backing fo the international community, no matter how nasty their leaders are.

As for cutting and running, why must we use that tired old rhetoric? Pulling out of unfavourable conflicts that are not acheiving their objectives is not QED cowardice. Would you have preferred the United States to remain in Vietnam, fruitlessly slaughtering wave after wave of ideologically driven guerilla fighters, while its own men were cut down on by one? The goal of Vietnam was to prevent the spread of communism and it proved to be a moot point since even with the rise of the communist government in Vietnam, south east asia didn't become one large red splotch on the map. That conflict taught the united states and the world that there is absolutely no way to win a dedicated guerilla conflict driven by powerful ideology. As has already been stated, extremism is like a weed, it works its magic by winning hearts and minds. The best way to allow extremeists to continue to win hearts and minds is to bomb the houses of civilians, let the common people see Americain boots on their soil and allow every minor peice of collateral damage to be seized on by the extremists and be held up as tangible proof of the West's evil.

Yes I say "cut and run" because we will never win the war of images that the extremists are fighting by behaving precisely as they say we behave, as imperialists and conquerors. We can "decapitate" people all we want, but there will always be more to take their place.

if the war were truly at a tipping point doesn't anyone else think there would be more coverage on american news?

Nope -- never occurred to me that there would be honest, and unbiased, reporting by the US media. Pretty sure that's an oxymoron.

Theo - first, welcome aboard. I see you have only a few posts, so I presume you are almost as new as I am.

I gather from your comments that you didn't live during the Viet Nam era. Before we go into the discussion, I want to clarify what really happened. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the supreme commander of the North Vietnamese army, wrote in his memoirs that they were defeated on the battlefield, but that, with the assistance, of the anti-war movement back in the US were able to hold on until the US lost its taste for the war. So, "...no way to win a dedicated guerilla conflict driven by powerful ideology..." is inherently false. For further evidence, take a look at WWII. The ideology, and commitment, of the Japanese exceeded the VN approach, but they were defeated. So, it isn't that the war can't be won, the question is whether you're willing to pay the price to win.

As for Iraq, there is a discussion at The Iraq Success that I think you will find educational. I would suggest that you are making the same mistake that most liberals make --- assuming that Iraq is the target, rather than the means.

Your "cut and run" commentary presupposes that the battle can't be won -- Iraq is only the first battle in the war -- when, clearly, there is strong evidence to the contrary. The battle in Iraq IS being won .. but even then, that is not the end of the war.

However, I must say that I take great umbrage at your choice of words ... "We can "decapitate" people all we want, but there will always be more to take their place." We don't decapitate people, remember ---- that's them. Have you forgotten who is who? Your comment is a direct insult to those who serve honorably for you.

Really? And all this time I thought the US lost in Vietnam. And today Vietnam is a democracy? Jeez, I have a lot to learn.

On the "brink of defeat" now? Cool. Imagine if we had kept a full complement of troops IN there instead of drawing down forces for this useless waste of life and treasure in Iraq.

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"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

--President-elect Barack Obama
November 5, 2008

The policy of allowing them to grow poppy has help a lot

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None. Mod edit to remove profanity. Fools to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am stuck up the middle of you!
Religion is a load of bollocks,

Im a Tart, What! you want some of this


Im glad I am a bottom feeder, not an arse licker!

We are Doooooooooomed