The Iraq Thread

[Akira]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Tex [USMC] @ 10 May 2003,02:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Ah, c&#39;mon Jinef, couldn&#39;t you guys think of anything funnier? Those are so obvious, and half of them fit Arkansas better than Texas anyhow. ***
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Must be from never having been here....I mean geez....didn&#39;t even mention Big Hair&#33;

[Warin]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PitViper @ 09 May 2003,22:54)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hh. I guess ole Ritter was on Saddam&#39;s payroll.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...987658018.html[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Did we read the same article? The last line says that he was offered a gift, refused, and reported it to the necesary authorities.

That sure sounds like he was on Saddam&#39;s payroll all right.

[PitViper]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Warin @ 09 May 2003,21:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PitViper @ 09 May 2003,22:54)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hh. I guess ole Ritter was on Saddam&#39;s payroll.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...987658018.html[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Did we read the same article? The last line says that he was offered a gift, refused, and reported it to the necesary authorities. ***

That sure sounds like he was on Saddam&#39;s payroll all right. ***[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
There has been much talk about Iraqi intelligence, Ritter and a possible intermediary. What is he doing with such connections? Frankly, I couldn&#39;t care if he denied a particular gold bracelet for his wife. Thats not the key point.

[Jinef]

True, i never have been there, i don&#39;t think i could stand up to the heat anyway. It was all just based around the cliches.

But i would love to hear your Welsh jokes, Baeh&#33;

[Bernadotte]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PitViper @ 10 May 2003,08:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Warin @ 09 May 2003,21:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PitViper @ 09 May 2003,22:54)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hh. I guess ole Ritter was on Saddam&#39;s payroll.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...987658018.html[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Did we read the same article? The last line says that he was offered a gift, refused, and reported it to the necesary authorities. ***

That sure sounds like he was on Saddam&#39;s payroll all right. ***[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
There has been much talk about Iraqi intelligence, Ritter and a possible intermediary. What is he doing with such connections? Frankly, I couldn&#39;t care if he denied a particular gold bracelet for his wife. Thats not the key point.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
PitViper, how do you feel about VP Dick Cheney spending 5 years as CEO of Halliburton? ***Do you think there might be some connection between that and Halliburton having received two huge Iraqi oil services contracts without any competitive bidding?

[Balschoiw]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">without any competitive bidding? [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
..and against the will of the Iraqi people that enjoy their massive freedom right now

[IsthatyouJohnWayne]

PitViper- First, im glad you injected some topical material into this thread (seemed to be going downhill)

but that ***weekly standard article, whilst interesting as an alternative viewpoint is a little on the silly side. It refutes many of the (supposed) claims made by the major news agencies whilst offering scant amounts of actual new evidence. One of its main contentions seems to be that ***news agencies are now reporting much more bad news than good news&#33; What has the world come to&#33;
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I dont think the Bush administration are either dumb or evil (the term evil is too loose and vague yet also too extreme)

.They are wrong (At least i -think- so increasingly).

Bush may be dumb, the administration is not.
There is no evil plot/hidden conspiracy , there are a set of policies strongly influenced by a Project.
The Project for a New American Century.
This seems to be the prime source of many of the post spt.11 Bush administration foreign and defense policies. It also seems to be the ideological and intellectual foundation of the &#39;Bush Doctrine&#39;.

Its not hidden, everyone can read about it.
Evil? Judge for yourself.

I would call it ill-conceived and dangerous.
Then again, it might just work out as the neo-conservatives hope. The Middle east might become more stable, peaceful and prosperous with a democratic and &#39;free&#39; Iraq in place.
.....Possibly?

But Iraq isnt looking especially prosperous right now and how long might it be until it does?

Also even if it does go well im not particularly comfortable or happy with the underlying aims of the &#39;project&#39;. In many ways it seems to be all about preserving the status quo or an idealised version of the status quo for America in as much as is possible by eliminating threats to &#39;stability&#39; and &#39;order&#39;. By cementing &#39;what is&#39; in terms of current American power,influence or conditions favourable to America TBA may be blocking off &#39;what could be&#39; for the future both bad and good.

At the start of his presidency President Bush talked of America as a humble nation. Now it is every other nation that must be humble.

I hope there are sane and moderate people in positions of power in the Administration to dilute some of the more extreme neo-conservative ideas in the future. Unfortunatly im far from sure there are.

[FallenPaladin]

Good post, IsthatyouJohnWayne, very good thoughts.

[Warin]

I dont think there is anything inherently &#39;evil&#39; in TBA planning.

Just amazingly short sighted, and totally ignoring the possibilities for &#39;blowback&#39;. It&#39;s this lack of foresight that brought about guys like Osama Bin Ladin. How many new terrorists will this current administration spawn?

[Jinef]

Enough to keep us going for another 15 years or so.

Hopefully i will have quit this job and be in a nice tropical location with fit girls all around me.