Originally posted by Ron In-a-sauna
most of the world lives in poverty and particularly in the middle east they have a warped sense that somehow our riches and economic privliges were attained somehow at their expense
Originally posted by Ron In-a-sauna
i agree with mondo, the afghan model proved to be very succesful, go with whats working, but some improvements do need to be made, i.e we cant have opposition parties committing autracities in hte manner the norhtern alliance did, we need better supervision.
oh and i am as corn-fed, yankee, white as they come but i fail to see why that is so relevant.

so quality leaders in the middle east is what we need, how do we foster such an enviornment? easier said then done lest we be accusued of an american brand of imperialism, but i think the afghan model foreshadows what nation building of the 21st century might look like. topple your favorite dictator/tyrant, iclude indigenous peoples as the lead force, and set up free elections, while providing peacekeeping forces for ongoing stability. for the most part it HAS worked in afghan, and this should be the blueprint moving forward with some improvements. i.e. we cant allow opposiotion forces to committ autraucities against rival factions, i.e liek the northern alliance. more suppervision is needed with these war by proxies.
So with all that said, give me your plan of attack/operations. I'm not looking for perfection, just credible ideas.![]()
Originally posted by Madison
Good point - the U.S. is the perfect symbol of wealth and power to be villified and blamed by the poor of the world. The UN is a great example.
This suggests that it's about more than just wealth, but your point is still very true.

rs7Originally posted by rs7
We get Bush and Saddam in a room together with black lights and day-glow Grateful Dead posters; dose 'em both with major amounts of LSD, give 'em a good sound system and a vast library of music, a chessboard, some beads, candles, and maybe a sitar, and lock the door on them for the duration. No weapons, only robes and pillows allowed. Padded walls maybe. Let 'em out after 30 hours, and see what they have worked out.
Peace
rs7 [/B]
Originally posted by canyonman00
Ok, two points. First, if we handle the matter as we did in Afghanistan Sadam will be wandering around and we'll have no clue where he is or if he is dead. So we can't handle it the same
way.
1) i dont care where sadam ends up since it is unlikey we will catch him anyway, and i am sure the coward will flee long before he has the chance of being caught. so for all i care he can wander the desert and die, but in any event by the time my kids are older he will be long gone regardless. (although tyrant dictators do have a habit of lingering on until they are 100 right)
Second, in telling me that you're a corn-fed yankee, you allow me to provide a relevant argument to your position. In this instance, you would have several Arab and Russian holdouts to your position just based on the fact that their thinking you a gun-weilding-cowboy-American type. Maybe even a republican, who just wants to steal oil.
2) i dont realy see where race is of any relevance to his forum, sure maybe in real life it has soem influence, but if this is the case why wasnt powell any more effective in the middle east then anyone else of any race, save jesse or ali, so yeah i think you do have a point but not relevant in this discussion. that is why i chose to poke fun at it if you didnt catch my fesiciousness the first time. no offense to powell either there b/c i think he is one of the best statesman/diplomats EVER period. condi rice is awesome too.
and another thing a russian would prob. more likely side with the west at this point anyway so i disagree with you. (some of these characters like bin laden/sadam are trying to regress back centuries to when it was east vs. west)
and this was probably a loaded issue i walked into so fine, you can post away and take me down.
You have no understanding of the Arab world and the wrongs that America has caused in putting Sadam in power in the first place. No that he has not bowed to your wishes, you want to put in another patsy. Your response.![]()