Of course they will. It will be the blood of OUR troops that was shed there -- shed by Iraqi troops using weapons supplied by the French, the Germans, and the Russians.
My point, Tyler, is that this whole war effort might not have been necessary if the French (especially) and the Germans and Russians had prevented a united front with us, the British, the Austalians, Spanish, Japanese, etc.
My point, Tyler, is that this whole war effort might not have been necessary if the French (especially) and the Germans and Russians had prevented a united front with us, the British, the Austalians, Spanish, Japanese, etc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thats Right!
Germans: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/2712903.stm Okay, that doesn't make my case since it wasn't the government. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hasn't a US company already won oil and reconstruction contracts? And please tell me how France uniting with the US would have made war unneccessary? Cause I'm pretty sure troops would be dying in Iraq right now, regardless.
I'm not sure about that, Nightpoet. Isn't it possible that in the face of united world opinion that Iraq might have done things differently and with less defiance? If the United Nations had presented a united front, it's possible that the threat alone might have sufficed. I have a strong feeling that continued defiance by Iraq is a reaction to the perceived weaknesses of those arrayed against them, and in the belief of support from those who are not.
Haliburton (Dick Cheney's old company) won the $500M (approx.) contract to put out the oil fires and stuff.
Perhaps a united opinion may have changed things. But the fact is, the US was looking to invade. They wanted a resolution that would give Iraq an impossibly short deadline, and if Iraq failed to disarm by that deadline, the US wanted to be able to invade. That leads me to think that there would be US, British, and Australian troops in Iraq right now regardless of whether France backed the US or not.
Well, we won't ever know if you're right or not. I'd personally disagree about the Australians though. Contrary to what you may have heard from several other Australians on these boards, we are not strictly kowtowing to American requests. I'm wondering how much Australian involvement had to do with a vaccilating UN and percieved lack of action by anyone else. If the UN had provided a solid front and other options were actually considered and implemented rather than pussyfooting around, I have a feeling Australia's position may hve been somewhat different. Britain as well, and perhaps even the US. How could the US have responded to something like "No, we will not invade with you, but THIS is what we ARE going to do" rather than "We're not going to invade because war is wrong"? How might things have been different?
Well, I guess it would have depended on the action suggested. There was a plan being circulated by Canada to members of the Security Council for different measures. I can't remember exactly what it entailed. My view is that the US wanted to invade, so it wouldn't have mattered what was suggested. Their aim is regime change and that cannot be accomplished through diplomatic means. Its too bad that there couldn't be like a chess game or something. Whoever loses is dragged off to hte bowels of hell or something Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And about Australia-I don't think they are bowing to the Americans in any way. Its just that they are supporting them now, and I thought they sent troops.
Umm.. bit complicated. We are bowing to them in several ways, but the impression given by some is that it's just ass-kissing, whereas I think we have an agenda of our own. The Free Trade agreement being touted is one matter, but I'm sure there are others. We have sent troops, yes. The navy, air force and SAS are active in Iraq, but no regular ground forces. We're more a support operation. It's beautiful really in my cynical point of view... We're contibuting, nobody can say we aren't there, but the likelihood of Australian casualties at this stage (depending on further developments in the SAS's role and that of the F-18 Squadron) is far less than that of other countries involved, and our economic or political gains could be disproportionally huge Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Tyler, I imagine they're going to find Made In Germany stamped all over some of the stuff they find in Iraq. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,861902,00.html
Poastok - if we want to track who supplied weapons to who - I think perhaps the US supplied weapons to Sadam (to help deal with Iran) and also to Afghanistan (to sort out the Russians). If you don't beleive me suggest you watch Rambo not sure if it was 1,2 or 3 i'll drop Mr Stallone a line!!!!!................Lets not forget the SUPERGUN handmade in the United Kingdom. We are all as bad as each other !!!
