Quote from max401:
RS7, nobody likes war. However, sometimes it is a necessity. Can you name a successful culture that warred for the sake of it?
Max, finally we agree. As you know, I usually sign my posts "Peace"....but more often lately, "Peace, Whenever Possible".
CSN&Y.....yup, I agree it is as you say. However, I am having a bit of trouble with the time frame. Since the song was recorded during the Vietnam "conflict", and since CSN was quite anti war (Ohio, Wooden Ships, etc.), I wonder why they used those lyrics in what was, at that moment, almost an anachronism. After all, we were clearly not fighting for OUR freedom. Nor, in my opinion, anyone's (but I will accept that there are alternate opinions to mine about this).
WW II, clearly the "Cost of Freedom" WAS buried in the ground. And in the seas, and on the beaches. A whole different conflict.
As for "Strangelove", (my favorite movie...don't mind repeating myself), yes, here I agree too. It was about how "mad" MAD was (for those too young or unfamiliar....Mutually Assured Destruction.
Which is one reason I so oppose a war now with Iraq. This is a war that I believe can be won with the accomplishment of one objective....ousting Saddam. Why go to war with a nation when our enemy is a leader that would likely be un-missed by the vast majority of his constituents. Sure it's easy to get all the votes in an election like he did. Vote for Saddam, or die. Couldn't even vote for Buchanan
But the is no MAD with Saddam. So this makes him very dangerous. His bluster seems to prove either of two things. He is completely mad and believes he can fight an unbeatable enemy (he has already failed miserably), or....he is equally mad, and doesn't care if his country is destroyed. The equivalent of a murder/suicide. Kill yourself, but take as many with you as possible. The ultimate suicide bomber. He MUST be eliminated. Here I agree with you. I just don't see a conventional fighting war being the correct recipe. We have the technology. We SHOULD have the intelligence.
Maybe it would be in our best interests to let Israel handle the situation and give them whatever they need in the way of weapons and technology. They successfully bombed Iraq and set their nuke program back drastically. With F-16's that the American Air Force said were not capable of carrying out such a mission (at that time). What does that say for good old "American Knowhow"?
Is there any question that Israel's intelligence is the best? Especially in issues involving the middle east?
We are a GREAT country. But we are not the best at all things. We have allies. Why not let the best members of our "team" play the positions they are best suited for? Tonight in the Orange Bowl, Willis Mcgahee will NOT play quarterback, and Ken Dorsett will NOT be the featured running back. If our intelligence is not up to the job....where is UBL? Where is Saddam? Where is Waldo? Why not use the guys that know how to do it? Is it "pride"? Remember Carters attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran? Israel did the equivalent of a "diplomatic laugh" at our incompetence. Why did we not ask them if the sand
might interfere with the operational abilities of the gunships involved. They LIVE in the desert. We didn't even practice in the desert. What do they fly in Nevada for practice? In Tonopah and Nellis, last I heard they were practicing F-15, F-16, and F-17 (stealth). Great! Where are they training helicopter pilots? Which jungle? Which plains (I believe mostly Texas and Ohio...could be wrong). We getting ready to fight in Vietnam again? I am sure we have come a long way since 1980, but still, why not use the best we have? Why screw around with sending a hundred thousand troops to get one guy? Where is OUR James Bond?
Are we afraid to use a Delta Force type mission because of Somalia? What have we learned? Hell, let's let Tom Clancy come up with a plan. Anything would be an improvement over a conventional over-run of a basically little sandy country with oil and a madman at the helm. A madman that was capable of setting Kuwait on fire just for a parting shot after being defeated.
Peace, Whenever Possible,

Rs7