reply to post by tothetenthpower
There is a lot of truth in this thread thats been proven many,many times throughout history.
The very nature of these conflicts [west vs terrorism],[palastine vs Israel],[UK vs Ireland] for example polarise and the longer the conflict
continues the deeper ingrained,the deeper entrenched each side becomes making it so much harder,in fact almost impossible to see the other sides point
of view as the original causes for the conflict get lost,distorted over time and the very conflict itself the real truth ~ in those terms how can you
ever hope to resolve the situation !!!
The conflict in Ireland is a case in point.What was the root of it ~ Battle of the Boyne 1690,Derry,Droghda and Cromwell 1649,numerous catholic Irish
rebellions,English Protestant colonisation from the 15th century on ???
Well take your pick either way the reasons are buried in history and very deep rooted.
I remember growing up seeing the IRA bombings,hunger strikes,hearing about knee cappings,Britsh soldiers being attacked etc,etc and feeling why doesnt
the Army go in and wipe the IRA out once and for all.
Obviously and thankfully I grew up and my uneducated opinions bore no reality to what the people who were directly effected by or lived through in
Northern Ireland.
What was required was each side to accept their opposite numbers believed something you didnt but putting that aside for just now in the cause of
finding peace which was what the peolpe of Northern Ireland truly wanted most.
Incidently it has somehow become seen as one of Tony Blairs greatest achievements.The process and the vast majority of the groundwork was completed
under the previous Tory government but Tony Blairs government happened to in power during the completion.Peace isnt one of TB's successes in any
theatre !!!!
Accepting that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter is the first step to finding a road to peace.
Also realising that military action and occupation only breeds resentment and therefore violent opposition.
Look at post 9/11.Hardly a country in the world criticised the attack on the Al-Queda training camps and their Taliban supporters.The US had a lot of
goodwill behind it but all that was squandered by 2003 and the invasion of Iraq.
I remember hearing the government citing WMD's and that Hussien had the capability to strike the UK within 12 minutes,according to an MI6 report.
My initial reaction was what a load of utter sh#@e nobody with half a brain will believe it for a second.In fact there was a lot of public and
political opposition but Tony Blair wouldnt entertain any different views or opinions on the subject,his mind was set on this unnecessary war with
Bush without any understanding how it would destroy any credibility we had in the ME.
Even worse there was no plan or concept of what would happen or what to do once Saddam was defeated.The total ineptitude in foriegn policy shown by
the Bush and Blair governments beggars belief.Succeeding governments have continued their policies almost blindly.
The war in Afgahnistan ??
What the hell is it about,for.In the UK we're told we're fighting there to keep the streets of the UK safe.
Safe from what ??
If they're deströying the opium crop and trying to reduce smack consumption over here its failing badly.
If its to stem the flow of Afgahn terrorists active in the UK I dont think it was ever a serious issue,in fact its a heap of s#@*e !!!
Did we have young UK muslims going to terrorists training camps pre 9/11 ???
And when we pull out fully by 2014 the Taliban will be free to rule exactly how they wish so what did we gain for all those dead British squaddies
then ???
I have to agree tenth that our current policies breed more terrorism.Military responses are self defeating ??
edit on 20/10/12 by fastbob72 because: refining