[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ailrickson', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I') fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down down down and the flames went higher
And it burns burns burns
The ring of Fire!

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours' meet
I fell for you like a child
But oh, how the fire went wild!

Don't get me wrong, shithead

[Guest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '"')Heroic Iraqi freedom fighters"



"Despicable cowardly terrorists"

Fixed that for you.

[Falconoffury]

The most interesting point that the article provides is the fact that there is no photographic evidence of the complete control over Falluja. Suspecting that we haven't taken over the city is perfectly reasonable.

[Aaron]

http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic2867.html

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')ls sont fous ces americains!

[cador]

Let me just say that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". I honestly feel compassion for the families of US soldiers who get killed over there, regardless of their feelings on the war. I'm quite certain that most of the US soldiers over there are sincere patriots who love their country who believe they're doing the right thing.

At the same time, the Iraqi insurgents are just as patriotic as well, if not more so. Plus, they are outnumbered, out-daisycuttered, out-reconned, etc. They are facing impossible odds. So whatever minor victory the Iraqi insurgents can muster, I admit that I can't help but applaud them. It's like watching movies about the US civil war--I cheer for Johnny Reb as the South's ragged band of shoe-less soldiers frustrate the Northern Yankees in defensive battles. I have a soft spot for the underdog.

This war was based nothing on lies. We're told that Saddam had to be gotten rid of because he had weapons of mass destruction, but now that story has been changed to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. Could the real reason be that it was to get rid of one of Israel's enemies and for the US to gain control of the world's last possible swing producer? If you haven't done so already, read the highlights of "Project For A New American Century"--it talks about needing a "Pearl Harbor-type event" to gain political support for a more aggressive US foreign policy. What "Pearl Harbor-type event" can you think of in the past few years that enabled this?

I hope that the red states who supported GW withdraw their political support soon. In the 2004 election, they didn't really love GW, they just hated him less than the race-pandering, gay-loving Kerry. It went much deeper than the simplistic commentaries of Bill O'Reilley and Limbaugh blathering about values and religion or the gratuitous bashing of "stupid Americans" by foreign observers. One expects San Francisco hippies to oppose the draft and military service just as one expects ruralites to be stoic patriots. It is the latter half of this equation that is slowly changing, and it is unprecedented.

The traditional recruiting ground for the US volunteer army has been rural West and Old South. These country boys have been over-represented in combat arms for three decades. But the well is drying up. Country parents are increasingly urging their kids not to join where 15 years ago it was a source of family pride - pictures in convenience stores, bumper stickers...the whole bit.

The leftist, multicult Utopia has been held together mostly by allowing them to incrementally dominate governance. But if the much maligned countryside (Deliverance, Ma and Pa Kettle, Beverly Hillbillies) is stirring, you can bet there's trouble on the horizon. Historically, rural "peasants" are slow to anger, but long to pacify.

[Aaron]

I have to wonder if the guy who was next on Uday's nut sack shocker list when the invasion happened would agree with your "insane" characterization?

Since when have the real intentions of nations going to war been a prerequisite?

I'm trying to recall any war in which the aggressor declared their actual expectations of victory... maybe Japan & Germany WWII?

Anyway, agreed that Canada has many appealing attributes, and enjoys a pretty favorable reputation in the US & internationally.

Kinda pisses me off actually that they got the partying French immigrants, while we got stuck with the puritans.

Kinda funny that our puritan roots made us the richest nation on earth, while preventing early generations from enjoying this wealth, (at least for a while).

In my opinion it's high-time we abandon as many fictional ideas which separate us as possible.

From national borders which become meaningless in the light of the actual condition of interaction between these nations, to ideas of predestination or, "it was meant to be" thinking, to non-existent racial & cultural fragmentation, these common myths serve only to manipulate opinion in support of the agenda of the power elite.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

Our border is not imaginary. We are not Americans, we are Canadians and proud to be so. We will not be annexed except by force. ON the lighter side here is someone elses take on it:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ere is how the two countries match up in several key areas:
Armed Forces budget:
U.S. -- $267,700,000,000; Canada -- $7,861,000,000

Best ground weapon: U.S.-- M-1 Abrams tank; Canada -- Mounties

Military hero: U.S. -- Gen. Douglas MacArthur; Canada -- Dudley Do-Right

Secret Weapon: U.S. -- Stealth technology; Canada -- Rabid beavers

So, it's my opinion that Americans should think twice before moving to Canada. It's cold, the food is weird and rumor has it that there are people there who are almost indistinguishable from the French.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

Not to mention that since we are part of a commonwealth. Britain would not only be unable to join the US in their war, the British as stated in the Commonwealth agreement would have to fight on our side. Further, so would all the other members of the common wealth, like:
Australia
Antigua
The Bahamas
Belize
Granada
Jamaica
Barbados
New Zealand
New Kits and Nevis
Papua New Guinea

Among others. So you see, we aren't alone and wouldn't be that easy to just walk all over. Finally, we know we're just a resource for you that you would walk all over us in a heartbeat if you chose to: some friends. and that is why we would never do it willingly. We'd just invite you in nice and friendly like and then shoot you.

[k_semler]

ABC News: Millitants Warn Iraqis to Shun Elections

BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 31, 2004 — Three militant groups released a statement saying democracy is un-Islamic and warned Iraqis that if they vote in Jan. 30 elections they risk being attacked.

The warning Thursday by the radical Ansar al-Sunnah Army and two other groups came after insurgents in the volatile city of Mosul launched a coordinated assault on a U.S. military outpost. The United States said 25 insurgents were believed slain and one American soldier was killed in the battle.

In the statement, the insurgent groups said that democracy could lead to passing un-Islamic laws, such as permitting homosexual marriage, if the majority of people agreed to it, the statement said.

"Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit," said the statement. "This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God Muslims' doctrine."

Ansar al-Sunnah earlier posted a manifesto on its Web site saying democracy amounts to idolizing human beings. Thursday's joint statement also signed by the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Mujahedeen Army reiterated the threat that "anyone who accepts to take part in this dirty farce will not be safe."

...

On Friday, Adel al-Lami, a senior member of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, denied a report by the Al-Jazeera satellite channel that all 700 workers for the electoral commission in Mosul resigned because they had been threatened.

"The report is not true," al-Lami told The Associated Press. "Only two people resigned and they are the head of the (electoral) office in Mosul and an accountant" he said, adding that they stepped down "for personal reasons" and not because of threats.

...

[BabyPeanut]

Elections? How about a civil war instead. link Link broken-FL
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')nother aide, Halim al-Mohaqeq, a cleric working in Sistani's office in Najaf, was also found dead on Wednesday. "Sheikh Halim was found drowned in his own blood. Investigations are under way," leading Sistani representative Hamed al-Khafaf said.

Iraqi officials say a series of attacks on Shi'ite targets in Iraq show that Sunni Muslim insurgents are mounting a campaign to inflame sectarian distrust, which has already been stoked by divisions over the elections.

Iraq's 60 percent Shi'ite majority, oppressed for decades under Saddam Hussein, strongly supports the elections. A list of mainly Shi'ite candidates drawn up with Sistani's approval is expected to dominate the polls. Sunni leaders say that if many Sunnis regard the elections as unfair, this will spark more bloodshed and even civil war.

[stu]

It's all bubbling up very nicely. Pretty soon the US government is going to have to make a final decision on troops. Get them out or bring in a shitload more.

Can you feel a draft?

[Kingcoal]

It's been drafty for a while and with the US "elections" over I don't know what's stopping King George.

[The_Virginian]

drafts take time to start up, and time to wind down.

they would impact the next presidential (s)election the year before 2008.

Colon Bowel seems to be hinting at pull back...I'm not convinced yet, either way.

[jato]

I think we may pull back into the desert/oil fields.

[TrueKaiser]

thats a option i think they are going to do. pull back into the many perement bases we have been building then when they build up enough troops forcefully take back at least the oil infrastructure.

[BabyPeanut]

link
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Suicide bomber blows himself up inside Shiite mosque in Mosul By Sindbad Ahmed, Associated Press, 3/10/2005 11:43
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shiite mosque during a funeral Thursday in the northern city of Mosul, killing at least 36 people and injuring 25, witnesses and hospital officials said. U.S. troops cordoned off the area in the northeastern Tameem neighborhood near the mosque. Civilian vehicles helped ambulance crews in ferrying casualties to hospitals.

At least 36 people were killed, said Dr. Saher Maher, speaking from a hospital in the city. The explosion took place during a funeral in the courtyard of a mosque that was still under construction. ''As we were inside the mosque, we saw a ball of fire and heard a huge explosion,'' said Tahir Abdullah Sultan. ''After that, blood and pieces of flesh were scattered around the place.''

Rows of overturned white plastic chairs were stained in blood. Body parts, believed to be of the bomber, were spread around the area, and the smell of gunpowder filled the yard. Windows of nearby cars were shattered. ''After the cloud of smoke and dust dispersed, we saw the scattered bodies of the fallen and smelled gunpowder,'' said Adnan al-Bayati, another witness. The mosque is located in a poor Mosul neighborhood and surrounded by many homes. Insurgents in the past have targeted Shiite mosques and funerals. The U.S. military that controls the area could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mosul has been a hotbed of insurgent activity and the scene of many bombings, drive-by shootings and assassinations against the country's security services, Shiite majority and people thought to be working with U.S.-led forces.

[nero]

Here is a story suggesting that the Turkomen and Kurds might get together to claim the Kirkuk oil field revenues for themselves.
Assyrian News Agency The civil war may start as another war over oil. I don't think it is inevitable but it is alarming.

[KiddieKorral]

Iwouldn't say a civil war in Iraq is certain, but it's almost certain. Hopefully, in the future the leaders of the world will remember the situation there when they get the idea to draw up borders with no regard for ethnic and cultural differences.

[BabyPeanut]

Suppose they wanted a civil war? Then they'd be killing each other and the US could just goad them on and supply them with weapons.