London Bombings

Was going to put this in Chit-Chat so to keep all the related threads together...but this is probably more appropriate here...

after 9/11 Canada, Britian, and some other nations were quick to go to Afghanistan to hunt down the leader behind it...

now that Britian has suffered a similiar attack, albeit, with fewer casualties, what do YOU think Britian should do?
and...what role do you think other Nations should play..or what services they should offer?

Eg ;)

The War on Terror will have the same result as the so-called War on Drugs...with Drugs the solution is simple...take the profit away and the house comes crashing down...
the War on Terror however has a different solution...and it can't be a ' half-baked ' solution...to win this War you have to exceed acceptable losses...inotherwords, you can't go in half-way, you have to go in ALL the Way...every available troop, weapon, and supply...and cast any hesitation to the wind...no negotiation, no diplomacy, 100% committed until the problem has been eradicated...
as long as terrorists are allowed acceptable losses they will never be persuaded to reconsider their actions.

Where do we begin this hunt and what are the acceptable losses of innocents? Who decides those acceptable loses? Who will fund this? Do we punish the host countries? Do we punish those countries that refuse to participate? Is there a time limit to achieve the objective? Who takes the lead on this hunt and how will you achieve universal support of the those in the lead?

Isn't North Korea also a terrorist state since they continually threaten the use of Nukes?

The questions can go on and on...

We will never win the war on drugs by chasing the bad guys that provide token busts to keep us pacified, or popping the folks on the street.

Nor will we ever win the war on terrorism in our current scenario. Granted we all want a pound of flesh for what they have done and I will stand beside you and "lock and load", however we will not win this one with bullets.

It is the minds and hearts that must change.

~cheers~

these new London bombings have really got me upset.

i think there are some .mil & .gov types that hang around here - which probably understand these things better than i do - so i would like to ask a question.

why can't we just go hiroshima-nagasaki on the entire afgan/iraq/iran area and end it once and for all?

and before you all jump at me with "well, you just can't do that!". i want to add...

we attacked iraq while most of the world & UN were against it - but we did it anyway. as far as i am concerned, that has established a precedent. we did it once. we can do it again.

sorry if i am putting a political spin on the topics here (but this is chit chat area) but this news really is upsetting.

Hi Relyt,

I agree...ultimately, it would be preferred if these terrorists just came to their senses and realized that killing ' innocent ' people is not going change anything...

but we both know that's not going to happen.

I agree....ultimately, diplomacy would be the preferred course of action...and everyone would sit and discuss the issues...

but we both know that's not going to happen either.

I think we failed in Afghanistan and Iraq...had full resources been applied to Afghanistan and the hunt for OBL, and Iraq been put on hold until ' after ' the first and primary goal had been achieved...there may not have been a need for Iraq...

Afghanistan had the support of the world community and should have been resolved before anything else...

to have gone after Saddam ( who was not a well liked dictator to even other Muslim states )before the capture of OBL only gave them a sense of victory...had OBL been captured, that would have been something they would have looked at...and Saddam would have folded just as Gaddafy did without even a struggle...

we missed the best opportunity we had to make a statement that would not have gone unnoticed by not following through with the world's full resources in the capture of OBL.

sometimes...the only way to make a point is with..

Quote:

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a pound of flesh

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Eg ;)

Yes, but how do you make a pound of flesh really hurt when it's against people who think the best thing that can happen in their life is to die for their cause? That if they die in the commission of these terrorist acts, or die whilst fighting against "western evil" they're going to go straight to heaven?

I understand the sentiment, I really do. I am tired of seeing people crying because they've lost loved ones who just happened to go to work one day. I'm tired of seeing these jackasses win battle after battle, and they are winning. The reason they are winning is because they aren't afraid to die, dying for this cause is the ultimate goal of their lives. The war approach isn't going to work, unless we obliterate every Muslim country on the planet. And if we do that, isn't that genocide, and one of the main 'reasons' we went after Saddam in the first place?

My thoughts, prayers, and sympathy go to all of those involved in this today. It was a bad day for me, horrible memories of 9/11, but today is about someone else's loss and grief.

i dont think this attack was really meant to get britain out. they were in it for the long haul and this will just toughen their resolve. i think its more meant to scare italy and some other nations that aren't as firmly commited. where as attacking them directly might just make them as mad a 911 did us unlike spain which was ready to fold even before they were attacked

"It is the minds and hearts that must change."

and that is exactly what will happen if we hang around long enough to make afganistan and iraq prosperous independant free nations then get the F out. and thats exactly why their trying to stop us.

when the iranians see the iraqies are doing better than they are they will try to be more prosperous and more free than their rival iraq.

N. Korea is and has been a terrorist nation because they have and will supply terror groups with weapons. which is what makes their development of nukes so dangerous. if they dont stop we will have to stop them one way or another or pay a real big price.

Hi debs,

Wars are won by demoralizing the enemy...either by playing on their minds or by presenting them with overwhelming odds...

the capture of OBL would have both made a strong point and demoralized his followers...

the escape of OBL means everything to these people and the capture of Saddam means nothing to these people.

There have been no victories....all that has happened is the guy they admire/revere is free...and the one who is considered a fool by them, captured....to them, the lion has no teeth.

Eg ;)

Oh, I agree 100% Eg. The mistake that was made was in not finishing what we started. My fear is that we have lost all chance of finishing this now. IMO, it's just going to continue to spiral out of control, we're going to keep sending our best and our brightest over there as cannon fodder, and where's the end? Had we captured OBL, it would be a different game right now, but no matter what Bush and his supporters say, the whole world, including the people we are fighting, believe that if they just hold out long enough and the US doesn't achieve their goal, we'll find someone else to pick on to take attention away from another failed US military goal.

Yep,

Gotta add that we should have marched all the way to Saddam the first time. Weren't we only about 45 miles from him on the first Iraq conflict? Iraq probably would have been a non-issue by now and OBL, either he's dead or someone is hiding him...

Well I'm definitely not liberal and don't believe diplomacy works in all cases. But with all of our combined brain power we should be able to figure out a way to change their hearts and minds; more smarts than braun to devise a way to convince them that it is in their best interest to knock it off permanently. However if we can't, then let's make some glass where all that sand is.

~cheers~

Hi Relyt,

Quote:

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either he's dead or someone is hiding him...

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If I were him...I'd be living in Washington, D.C...in a posh apartment overlooking the Pentagon...watching everything on CNN...

it wouldn't surprise me in the least if his office in New York had a bird's eye view of 9/11...and watched as it went down...

Maybe for kicks he attends the same church as the Bush's for Sunday Mass.

He's probably in the last place you'd look!

As just another Arab American walking around he probably wouldn't even get a second glance...it's the safest place for him to be.

Eg ;)