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posted by Rockpuck
I normally do not agree with you, but I do agree with you here . . To further that evidence this [surge] is a build up against Iranians, President Bush declared that any Iranian (non diplomat or civilian) would be killed, and actually hunted down. We have all but declared war upon Iran, at least within the Iraqi borders. Now wether you see that a good thing or a bad thing is your own personal opinion. I would prefer not to be drafted and head out to a desert war. Just my opinion though. [Edited by Don W]
posted by desert
DW, have you come across this yet? Interesting. I don't want this to be the reason, And if the surge is for Iran, God help us. [Edited by Don W]
In 1965, Tom Paxton sang,
Lyndon Johnson told the nation
Have no fear of escalation.
I am trying everyone to please.
Though it isn’t really war,
We’re sending 50,000 more
To help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.
Four decades later, Bush is asking us to save Iraq from the Iraqis.
" . . Who asked the waiter to deliver this dish? Who asked for the 21,000 soldiers? We know the US military didn’t ask for the 21,000 troops. We know the Iraqi government didn’t ask for the 21,000 troops. So who wants the occupation to continue? The answer is in Riyadh . . the House of Saud, the Saudis are concerned that a US pull-out will leave their Sunni brothers in Iraq to be slaughtered by Shia militias. More important, the Saudis will not tolerate a Shia-majority government in Iraq controlled by the Shia mullahs of Iran. A Shia combine would threaten Saudi Arabia’s hegemony in the OPEC oil cartel. In other words, it’s about the oil.
So what’s the solution? What’s my plan? How do we get out of Iraq? Answer: the same way we got out of ‘Nam. In ships. imagine that somehow we could rip away the strings that allow Cheney and Rove and Abdullah to control our puppet president and he somehow, like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, suddenly grew a brain. His speech last night would have sounded like this: My fellow Americans. Iraq is going to hell in a handbag. we need to send in 21,000 more troops. So I’ve just wired King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and told him to send them.”
www.gregpalast.com...-1567
From Greg Palast, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Armed Madhouse.” He reports on Iraq and oil for BBC-TV.
posted by Jimmy1880
I'm in the British army, my regiment normally gets sent in very early on in major conflicts. I joined op telic 1 two weeks before the missiles started flying! I have heard nothing about going to Iran. My commander assures me that he knows nothing. I think if America do try to invade Iran they might well be going alone. That or the surge of troops is intended as people here are saying to draw Iran into doing something stupid. Be safe. [Edited by Don W]
Originally posted by donwhite
I say confidently that 3,000 Brits (out of 7,200) will be out of Iraq by our Labor Day,
Originally posted by donwhite
What I didn't say is those 3,000 men may find themselves in AFghan, boostin gthe NATO effort to re-take it from the revived and now energized - say opium - Taliban. Another miscue by the Neo Con Gang of Fourr, Bush43, VP Cheney, the Oberfuhrer now gone and the Birmingham Songbird, Condo Rice.
Originally posted by donwhite
And third, your Foreign Minister said publicly that she believes the UK would begin turning over to the Iraqis those areas under their jurisdiction, which is double-speak for “we’re coming home.” If Labor does not make a significant move to distance itself from Bush43 - rebuked here on November 7 - then they are putting themselves in peril.
Originally posted by donwhite
If you have not read the short book, “Pegasus Bridge” by the late Stephen Ambrose, the leading American historian of World War Two, I believe you will find it instructive and entertaining. In his book, he followed the planning and preparation for that most critical operation to capture intact 2 key bridges leading out of Normandy, set for 6 hours before D-Day began. Major John Howard, commanding. I recommend it to anyone. It ought to be mandatory reading at our West Pont and all military personnel.
Originally posted by donwhite
the Pegasus Bridge operation was vastly more complex, required many times the amount of training, and was carried off with exceptional alacrity by all involved, to the credit of Major John Howard who led the assault with soldiers of the "Ox and Bucks" - Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry- Who I believe began the war a Major and retired afterwards as a major. Unlike Americans who are seriously rank conscious, the English are rank-sparse?
posted by Jimmy1880
Operation Telic = War in Iraq . . the number denominates what part of the war, the number goes up by 1 roughly every 6 months. We are currently on Op Telic 9. I've been sent to 1, 3 and 7 Sorry I shouldn't use jargon . . BTW the war in Afghanistan is called Operation Heric. The point I was trying to get across in my above post is that all indications show a likely unilateral attack by the US on Iran, This is a scary prospect! [Edited by Don W]