America as the villian and the cause of the worlds woes...

[Erik (imported)]

Ravenwings

I was being extreamly sarcastic.

And as a matter of fact I have been to Canada many times in my life and in a lot of ways Canada is the same as the USA, and in some ways the USA is like Canada. I even rememebr reading a local paper once while in Canada and it had a poll in it and a supriing 45% of the peopel polled sia dthey would like to see the USA and Canada become one country. Saying the merger would help both countries.

You are new to the board and do not know me so eevn thougth I felt insulted by yoru comments to me, I shall not hodla grudge.

Have a nice day.

[A-1 (imported)]

I have found that a year or two of 3.5 GPA or better will allow one to transfer to any University in America.

Georgetown would probably be my pick if I were you because of their excellent programs in the fields in which you have interest.

From what you ave told us International Studies would be more up your alley than history.

Colin, as always, thanks for the critical input. Why did you wait for so long?

Let's keep up this conversation as it is a lively one and I am sure that it is interesting for others, also.

Erik, no apoligies necessary. I was sarcastic also, but it was done in a way that is hard to argue with.

So, I am sorry if I offended, but I do believe a lot of what I have said.

Re: Sadam and UN inspections.

This man plays cat and mouse better than anyone else in the world today. If hs has made noises about U.N. inspections, he is doing it as a stalling tactic. His strategy is a huge shell game.

One thing for sure, in a constantly changing world Saddam Hussain is a constant that may be relyed upon to stay the same way. He will never change until he assumes room temperature.

Well, good night!

A-1

[RavenWings (imported)]

A-1, of course Saddam is doing this kind of trickery. He'll probably allow weapons inspectors back in sometime around October. Actually, the real question isn't weather or not he HAS WOMD, but will lifting the sanctions allow him to get them more readily. You see, I'm not sure that he has them in any great quantity simply because of the difficulties of getting the materials needed to create them. Rumsfeld's claim of 'mobile laboratories' is baseless. Has the man ever tried to create two million units of anthrax in the back of a truck as it bounces around the country side? Conversely, the British say that he does have some WOMD and I trust their data a lot more than I trust the American. James Bond aside, I've heard CIA agents praise the British MI agents for their abilities. One former CIA agent said of the CIA that 'a CIA agent will only get to meet a member of Al-Quaida if he walks in the door of his office in Carachi.' The CIA has no competent field agents fluant in any Middle Eastern language who can pass for an Arab or any other ethnic group. This does not mean that MI6 has had a lot of luck penetrating most of these groups. The British managed to get a few agents into the lower levels of Al-Quaida and other groups, but many, such as Hizballah, are kinship based, and it takes a great deal of fanatasism to get into the higher ranks of these organizations. (Did I mention that I just finished a class on Political Terrorism with one of the best experts in the field?) So, what it comes down to is the that I trust our foreign allies intellegence services a lot more than I trust any of ours. In the days following 9/11, most of Europe managed to capture and even prosicute just about every member of Al-Quaida that they knew of. Partially because they took to heart what Ahmed Shah Masoud said back in April of last year. Masoud, the late leader of the Northern Alliance, went to the UN and warned the world that Al-Quaida was planning something very big against the west. He knew that one target was going to be in Europe- probably the EU parliament- and another was to be in the US- probably the White House. The Trade Center was actually a secondary target that was chosen when European security became so tight that it was impossible to carry out even a small attack on anyone. (that's thanks to Arthur Kent of the History Channel who did a wonderful show on Afghanistan, which he's been covering for the past 20 years.) Masoud's assassination, which was 9/9, was probably the message to begin the attack.

The question now is really, is going after Saddam going to cost us more in the long run, or less? To be honest, I think it will cost us more than we really can afford, and not just monitarily. I really would look at finding another way of taking him out, and only then, if all else fails, build a case against him in the court of world oppinion. All that said, I just wish that there was more caution in dealing with Saddam. What the administration seems to lack in understanding is that any invasion is gong to cost a lot of American lives. There really isn't any way to avoid it. Even the opposition forces within Iraq are not with us in an invasion.

OK, I'm about done rambling. Incidentally, just so you all know, I do have a minor learning disability, that is why my spelling is so terrible. As for my gramatical structure....well, I think that either I've spent too much time reading old documents, or some past lives are seeping through. I certainly do have a gramatical structure that dates back centuries. Sorry, I've done the best I can to compenstate for all of these problems, but short of talking like an idiot, there isn't much I can do.

Thanks, and until later

[A-1 (imported)]

I understand that it is difficult to spell.

After my degree in Mathematics and Physics, my spelling went to hell so to speak. Now my math is rusty and my spelling is atrocious so you see that you cannot win.

I do not worry to much about any type of presence of a disability. I have fingers like the ends of ball bats so it is difficult for me to type.

Steven J. Cannell (sp?) who has written many telelvision dramas and weekly detective series for Television is said to be dyslexic.

So, disabilities are a problem only if you let them be a problem.

you say that

You see, I'm not sure that he has them in any great quantity simply because of the difficulties of getting the materials needed to create them. Rumsfeld's claim of 'mobile laboratories' is baseless. Has the man ever tried to create two million units of anthrax in the back of a truck as it bounces around the country side?

In the part of the world where I live there is a lot of methamphetimines being manufactured in clandestine home operations.

About the only way to stop it is to have the grocery stores keep track of their sales. They have ingenious ways to do this. One is by offering discounts if you get an bar-coded card. This way, they have the address of everyone and they have the records of how much they buy.

About the only ingredient that you cannot buy is anhydrous ammonia. In the area farms it is used as a source of nitrogen and sprayed into the ground from time to time. So this they steal from the farmers.

The point of this is that it is possible to manufacture some chemical weapons in mobile laboratories but I am not sure of the particulars.

For the most part you are right, though. Many deadly substances have to be made in strictly controlled environments. With this being said, when Saddam avoids these inspections, which most believe will show little, he looks like he is hiding something.

If, however, he allows the inspections, he loses face and becomes less respected in the Arab world. It is a dilemma that he has brought upon himself. He should have been more prudent.

Well, hindsight is always 20-20, as they say. The problem is that if Saddam doesn't cooperate, and soon, he will be facing a war because America is tired of him and the whole situation and many citizens have "blood in their eyes" so to speak.

He better believe that the civilians in America will stand behind Geroge W. Politics or no, Saddam is in a lot of trouble.

As far as paying a price goes, America has many expensive weapons of war. They work very well. America conducts war much differently than they used to. Saddam's military in 1992 was arguably the strongest in the area if not the world, but his technology was not sufficient to match America. I believe that if a war comes this will still be the case. Iraq will fall. I am sure that some group in Iraq similar to the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan will come to power at that point.

Saddam will face the same fate as Slobodan Milokivic (Sp) if captured alive.

Inaccurate, maybe, but that is how I see it.

I do not believe that George W. will back down. Unless the UN inspections go with out problems I feel that we will see war in Iraq again. I cannot say that I agree or disagree with the prospect, but I fear that it is coming and is unavoidable because of the personalities of the leaders involved.

What do you think?

A-1

[RavenWings (imported)]

I agree, A-1, about a lot of that. I was more pointing out the difficulties of manufacturing a lot of these chemical and biological weapons. I know that it is possible to make some of the simple stuff in small batches in home or truck labs. Problem is, storing a lot of it in readily available places. Some of the problem is that the quantities needed to affect a large population require a very large storage facility, and that is very hard to hide. The other problem is that, as I said, our intellegence apparatus is not the best in the world. We tend to hit a lot of unrelated places while doing our bombing and missle runs.

Will there be war in Iraq again? Probably. I think that it is inevitable. I just think that the administration has to do a damn good job proving its case or it isn't going to survive the end of the war intact. Congress is adamant about what conditions need to be present in order to take out Saddam, and right now, they do not see any evidence of that existing. I think that one thing that could get Arab backing is one of those things we aren't too comfortable with. We need to start by pointing out that we put him in power, and that we feel that we should remove him from power for what he has done to his fellow Muslims....sort of a mia culpa type thing. That may actually work in the Arab world. The next thing is to either offer him up to the ICC or to an Arab court to hear about his abuses, after all, it is against his own people that he committed these attrocities, not to anyone elses. One offer that should be made is to the people of Iraq. Either to remain as one country or to split off into their respective groups, each with their own countries and recognized boarders.

On a side note, I enjoy this method of communications. I always feel so rushed while in chat or IM. This I can leave and come back to as much as I need to. And yes, A-1, I do find that one's disability is only a problem if you let it be a problem. I just always want to appologize for the spelling, I know that it can be difficult to read sometimes.

Until later

[colin (imported)]

A-1,

I did not reply earlier because I felt that there was an element of hysteria in the posts both by you and by Paolo. I enjoy the archive and did not want to run the risk that I would get myself banned.

From past arguments in which you have been involved I am pretty sure that a lot of your more extreme opinions are expressed to provoke a response and may be, shall we say, a little more forceful than you truly believe.

I have no doubt that you are an American Patriot and sincerely believe in the US, in the same way that I am intensely proud of my own country. We may no longer be the great power that we once were, but we have done many things of which we can be justly proud. Of course, we have also done a lot of things about which we should be ashamed.

The hurt which Americans feel over 9/11 is genuinely shared by people all over the world. The fear is that President Bush may attempt to use that fear to involve the US and others in ill thought out action. As you say, if Bush mounted an action against Iraq he would gain a lot of support in America. At least until the body bags started to arrive. The fear is that at that point the US will pull out leaving any allies high and dry.

Finally, I should apologize. I should never have described your statements as 'utter crap'. Crap maybe, but utter crap? No!

LOL