Al Zarqawi "knew what hit him".

[notnothin]

I really don't get the whole hype thing here.

Honestly, if you think this death is going to make the slightest bit of difference your head is somewhere in the clouds with the fairies and leprechauns.

Rich::

I, for one, realize that it will have no effect on the conflict as a whole due to the decentralized nature of the Al Qaeda organization. However, it was still a great psychological victory for our troops.

 

[Anewman]

Indeed. Thanks a lot! As cold as it seems, I'm glad it happened that way. I'm not sure if any of you ever watched a full beheading video (I saw a number of them), but it was easily the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my life.

Not cold IMO.

I am not upset that he was taken out, taking him out along with 7(I think) of his high ranking cronies INDEED weakens that organization. It is just my opinion that it would have been so much sweeter to have them ROT in AMERICAN prisons. Show him as a an example of weakness to all their possible recriuts. Dont mean to make this a debate.

Just pointing out that just because we are not "Happy" about this does not mean we are full of hate or "blame America for everything", as one poster feels is a fact.

 

[dcentity2000]

I, for one, realize that it will have no effect on the conflict as a whole due to the decentralized nature of the Al Qaeda organization. However, it was still a great psychological victory for our troops.

Good point; a boost to moral is never a bad thing.

As for the beheading videos, they're sick. P2P networks (like Kazaa and Limewire) are flooded with the things, often masked as comedy videos and the such.

I was unlucky enough to download what I thought was an interview but what was actually an execution. Vexingly, my old computer locked up and the video played - it was foul and frankly horrific; I will not describe the contents here.

I really could have done with not seeing that and regret not removing the battery from the laptop fast enough.

Skank.



Rich::

 

[Cool-Beans]

The only effective violent way to deal with terrorists is to make terrorism unthinkable. If a terrorist shoots a child, we'd have to shoot a school full of children. If a terrorist bombs a house, we'd have to level a city. If a terrorist uses a chemical weapon, we'd have to gas their families.

That's it, full stop. That's the only violent way you could even begin to stem the tide of violence emanating from these distorted people.Rich::

I agree with the first part, but not about bombing schools. Bombing children doesn't accomplish much and is just a horrid concept. TOTAL last resort kind of thing.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I agree with the first part, but not about bombing schools. Bombing children doesn't accomplish much and is just a horrid concept. TOTAL last resort kind of thing.

Bombing a school full of children shouldn't be any resort,IMO

 

[flatline]

double post

 

[notnothin]

Bombing a school full of children should be any resort,IMO

I'm guessing that you meant "shouldn't", or hoping at least.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'm guessing that you meant "shouldn't", or hoping at least.

Thanks for catching that..edited

 

[nightowlky]

I, for one, realize that it will have no effect on the conflict as a whole due to the decentralized nature of the Al Qaeda organization.

Al Qaeda is actually a very small part of a much larger mindset. Bin Laden, himself, is in the minority when it comes to Islamist groups. Bin Laden wants to fight the "far-enemy" while most other groups want to focus on the "near-enemy". Bin Laden, himself, changed his methods and ideology after the US installed troops in Saudi Arabia, the holy land, home of Mecca and Medina. That's when he turned from trying to force Islamic states in Middle Eastern nations to actually going after the US. It's his own twisted ideology that has isolated him from most Islamist groups.

But, when the US began fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, it opened itself to attack from those other groups (like that headed by Zarqawi).

The persona of Zarqawi (overblown and super-exaggerated by the Pentagon) having been extinguished will have little to no effect in the overall "war" on terror. There are just too many other groups, including Al Qaeda, that will continue to fight the US and work to cause sectarian differences.

But, what it comes down to is the Mises Effect: an intervention in a situation that itself was the result of a prior intervention will often lead to the opposite desired result.

It's time to bring our men and women home and actually work to secure our own nation and work to become energy-independent and take away the stranglehold the Middle East has over our energy needs. If Brazil can be energy-independent (via its sugar cane ethanol production), then by golly the US surely can!

 

[Cool-Beans]

Bombing a school full of children shouldn't be any resort,IMO

Sometimes these guys stockpile their chemicals (or themselves) in the school and don't let the building empty of children. They know Americans and Israelis are the kind of people who don't like to bomb hospitals and kids, and they use it to their advantage.

In that case, there is nothing to do but bomb the kids/sick people, too. But, again, as a last resort. It is heartbreaking, but that's war.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Sometimes these guys stockpile their chemicals (or themselves) in the school and don't let the building empty of children. They know Americans and Israelis are the kind of people who don't like to bomb hospitals and kids, and they use it to their advantage.

In that case, there is nothing to do but bomb the kids/sick people, too. But, again, as a last resort. It is heartbreaking, but that's war.

Are you familiar with Beslan? It is situations like that that I am talking about, Not air bombing a building

 

[Cool-Beans]

Are you familiar with Beslan? It is situations like that that I am talking about, Not air bombing a building

I'm just clarifying what I meant.

I don't want to sound like I'm endorsing anything like what happened in Russia.

We might have to bomb kids, or go into a building and shoot them, but it should be a last resort.

ETA: This is yet another example of how we differ from the bad guys. American soldiers do not use children or sick people as shields.

 

[dcentity2000]

Al Qaeda is actually a very small part of a much larger mindset.

The concept that there is an ultra mega über super dooper naff off huge underground ultimate terrorist new world order movement is just rubbish. If they were super co-ordinated and had the whole schnaps going for them, they would have struck waaaaaaaay more times than they have already.



Rich::

 

[nile455]

It is just my opinion that it would have been so much sweeter to have them ROT in AMERICAN prisons.

I agree with this. While I am obviously thrilled Zarqawi has been eliminated, it would have been sweet to see him caught alive, then thrown into an American prison. Not Guantanemo or the Supermax in Colorado, because their inmates are also American haters. Instead, a regular prison sharing a cell with other American criminals who couldn't wait to make every remaining day of his life miserable. Would love to see Zarqawi become some burly biker dude's you know what.

 

[dcentity2000]

I agree with the first part, but not about bombing schools. Bombing children doesn't accomplish much and is just a horrid concept. TOTAL last resort kind of thing.

Personally, I find the whole concept repulsive; slaughtering families just to get back at terrorists is foul and low. Of course, I am very religious, so the whole "thou shalt not kill" thing is pretty central to my ethics.



Rich::

 

[nightowlky]

The concept that there is an ultra mega über super dooper naff off huge underground ultimate terrorist new world order movement is just rubbish. If they were super co-ordinated and had the whole schnaps going for them, they would have struck waaaaaaaay more times than they have already.



Rich::

That's what I was saying. Al Qaeda focusing on the "far-enemy" (US and Israel although they focus solely on the US) is an example that they are not part of the general Islamist mindset.

 

[Jabber_Jaws]

I hope the virgins were BUTT ugly and smelled.

Thanks.. Now I need to get the coffee off my screen..

 

[Charade]

That's what I was saying. Al Qaeda focusing on the "far-enemy" (US and Israel although they focus solely on the US) is an example that they are not part of the general Islamist mindset.

far-enemy/near-enemy, IMO, it matters little when the cornerstone of their mindset is to rain terror down on innocents. If we brought all our troops home tomorrow, they would not stop. We can only protect our borders as much as the ALCU types will allow. We can't profile, it's racist. We can't even get Congress to agree that conferring with Mexico before building a fence is a stupid idea. We have bleeding hearts and vote catchers wanting to give "rights" to people who don't have any other than free bus ticket back to the end of the line. There are many that think if we just leave them (the terrorists) alone, they would leave us alone when in fact, it's the other way around.

 

[Charade]

Thanks.. Now I need to get the coffee off my screen..

Sorry!

 

[nightowlky]

far-enemy/near-enemy, IMO, it matters little when the cornerstone of their mindset is to rain terror down on innocents. If we brought all our troops home tomorrow, they would not stop. We can only protect our borders as much as the ALCU types will allow. We can't profile, it's racist. We can't even get Congress to agree that conferring with Mexico before building a fence is a stupid idea. We have bleeding hearts and vote catchers wanting to give "rights" to people who don't have any other than free bus ticket back to the end of the line. There are many that think if we just leave them (the terrorists) alone, they would leave us alone when in fact, it's the other way around.

When was the first major attack against the US on US soil? 1993. And it was financed by bin Laden. Hmm...that's after the 1991 Gulf War when the US deployed troops to Saudi Arabia (as I mentioned earlier).

And, near-enemy/far-enemy does make a difference. The US was working hand-in-hand with these exact same people back in the 1980s during the Soviet/Afghani war. The US supplied billions of dollars of weapons and training to the Islamists in Afghanistan, mostly via Pakistan's ISI. Once the Soviets pulled out, both the Islamists and the US claimed victory when in fact it was actually the Soviet Union self-destructing that precipitated the end of that war. Heck the US was even working with Saddam during the Iran/Iraq war and gave Saddam chemical weapon pre-cursors and satellite imagery of Iranian troop positions. The saying of the enemy of my enemy is my friend has proven time and time again to be a fallacy.

Your digression into the immigration issue is a distraction, just like most of the illegal immigration debate is. Interesting this administration has done nothing for 5 1/2 years and now in a very important mid-term election year it's all of a sudden a huge issue (right next to keeping 1-2% of this country's citizens from being able to marry)

Certainly there are groups that will never leave us alone which is why our border and port security must be addressed as well as nuclear, chemical plant safety (and the rail and trucking industries). And all of those aspects of our actual National Security have been all but ignored in lieu of "fighting them over there" which has had the only result of making our fighting men and women target practice.