Almost seven years has gone by

[PeriscopeDepth]

...since 9/11. And guess who the number one threat to the United States is?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7376233.stm

PD

[Dowly]

Umm... havent everyone been saying for quite some fricking time that Afghanistan is new Vietnam? Just turn your brains on and THINK! How you can fight something you dont see? The enemy can be anyone on the market place/street corner etc.

Anyone who is surprised about Al Qaida still being strong has to open their eyes. The news tell us how the coalition has blown/captured that and that stronghold, while they dont tell us that withing few hundred kilometers there's still maybe hundreds of rebels.

I'm betting this war will be the longest in the US history if it goes on, and I dont mean year or two longer, I honestly wouldnt be surprised if we would count the war in afghanistan in decades in the future. That is of course if the coalition doesnt retreat OR use a nuke (which I really dont see happening) before that.

[Monica Lewinsky]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

...since 9/11. And guess who the number one threat to the United States is?

I think they will be around for a few more years as an anoyance, but have no system to deliver ... evil things.

My concern is North Korea. They do HAVE a missle system that can deliver "stuff" to a target within a very limited range. Our Arab friends need to "buy" one - a missle - then we have troubles. Since North Korea is starved for money/food, they are a bigger threat IMO to sell out and sell a vehicle to cause ... kaos.

[Ducimus]

Almost seven years has gone by since 9/11

What's gotten fuzzy to me is how sept 11th turned into iraq. Afganistan, yeah i can still piece that one together in my mind, but the who's and why's of iraq have gotten fuzzy to me over the years.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

What's gotten fuzzy to me is how sept 11th turned into iraq. Afganistan, yeah i can still piece that one together in my mind, but the who's and why's of iraq have gotten fuzzy to me over the years.

Didnt you know? Saddam had WMDs and ties to Al Qaida. :rotfl:

[bookworm_020]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Didnt you know? Saddam had WMDs and ties to Al Qaida. :rotfl:

Did they ever find a WMD or Al Qaida in Iraq???:hmm:

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Monica Lewinsky

I think they will be around for a few more years as an anoyance, but have no system to deliver ... evil things.

My concern is North Korea. They do HAVE a missle system that can deliver "stuff" to a target within a very limited range. Our Arab friends need to "buy" one - a missle - then we have troubles. Since North Korea is starved for money/food, they are a bigger threat IMO to sell out and sell a vehicle to cause ... kaos.

Do you really think they need a missile to deliver a catastrophic attack against American civillians AGAIN?

PD

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

What's gotten fuzzy to me is how sept 11th turned into iraq. Afganistan, yeah i can still piece that one together in my mind, but the who's and why's of iraq have gotten fuzzy to me over the years.

I think emerging powers, rising oil and food prices, and Iraq are all tied together. The PGW was the first major resource war in modern times. There will be more.

PD

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

Did they ever find a WMD or Al Qaida in Iraq???:hmm:

NNNNNope.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

I think emerging powers, rising oil and food prices, and Iraq are all tied together.

Definitely the first three. As people get richer, they eat more meat and burn more oil. Hence our present situation. I think the current mess in Iraq is a accelerating factor, but not a cause.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

Definitely the first three. As people get richer, they eat more meat and burn more oil. Hence our present situation. I think the current mess in Iraq is a accelerating factor, but not a cause.

Stiglitz, whom I mentioned before, and who is referred two in another current thread, totally disagrees, pointing out that before the Iraq war the prognosis on oil prices expected them to be stable at around 25-35 US$ for longer time to come - increased world demand and raised demand in China and India already calculated in. The explosive multiplication of oil prices he directly attributes to the Iraq war.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Sorry, I did not word that as well as I could have. By connected, I did not mean to imply causation. I think that the 1991 PGW was the first large war for resources. OIF was really just finishing an undeclared war that had gone on for more than a decade, and was a move to secure these resources (control, but not own rather than just assure their secure passage as was done in 1991). I understand that OIF is a cause in the rapid oil price increase. Didn't exactly work out the way the admin planned, "being welcomed" by the Iraqis and whatnot.

PD