Only in the USA...

Mike, I respect your views and oppinions as much as I respect anybody else's, but expect that my views and oppinions are respected, too. Some did not, and got insulting, so I insulted right back. That's the name of the game.

And yes, I agree to civilised discussions. My aim is to shed some light into some of the darkness in which millions of people are kept by biased media. I am strictly anti-war. War is the toy of those whose diplomacy failed. War is never a solution.

I am slightly older, being born shortly after the Korean War. I witnessed Vietnam, the Falklands, the Intifada, Iraq vs Iran, Afghanistan, Gulf War I and now Gulf War II, and many other smaller conflicts in this world. I am interested in history of mankind, as history explains 99% of all conflicts that we experience today. And I am interested in world politics, and also in other countries, their habits, their culture and their people. And I like to travel and explore other countries and cultures.

I would call myself open-minded and well-educated, with a broad knowledge of what is going on on our planet. And I prefer to think globally and look beyond frontiers.

Regards,
Peter

[AC_A340-500]

Maybe if Switzerland was threatened by terrorists you would understand are want and need for justice

It just blows me away how many Americans CONFUSE Iraq (Saddam Hussein) with Osama Bin Laden. It's incredible how effective those smoke and whistle tactics of the media work. I can't believe they've actually succeeded in projecting the terrorist threat onto Iraq, after failing to capture Bin Laden.

It's always the same story: someone accusing Iraqis of being terrorists. These people seriously believe that Hussein poses a terrorist threat.

The closest that Iraq has come to being involved in terrorism is the alleged sponsoring of Palestinian groups who MAY have been involved in supporting attacks on Israeli soil.

Wake up America. Some of you are beginning to, and a few of you have been awake all along.

[mikecweb]

Mike, please tell this father at Basra, who is now laying severely injured in a hospital, and having lost his three daughers in a cluster bomb blast (by the Brits, I guess), that this bomb was thrown at his house to help him.

First of all it was not thrown at his house. Second of all no one said that civilians would not die in the war. Alot more of them will be helped though.

I wonder what answer you would get! You'd probably be lynched instantly, and no one could be really blamed for it.

I would get lynched by the Iraqi people if I asked if they wanted to live under Saddams regime?

Your so-called 'precision' weapons have failed in the last Gulf War, and they still fail. And a cluster bomb is effective, but not really a precision weapon. So claiming to aim at military targets only, and then using cluster bombs that do much harm to everything within 2-300 metres around this 'military' target is, to say the least, arrogant and ingoring.

The precision weapons used in this war are far more advanced then the ones used in the previous gulf war. Plus how many cluster bombs are we really using?

In previous wars such as WWII civilians were the targets. The goal was to kill the other country until they give up. Even you could see that in this war the US is desperatly trying to save civilian lives. The US is trying so hard that when a mishap does happen and a civilian does get killed it is major news.

I really would like to keep this discussion civil. As far as where my opinion comes from. I'm 19 and I'm attending college to become a pilot. Personally I feel guilty everyday when I see men and women my age over there fighting and I'm sitting here chatting on the internet. I have discussed this with alot of my peers and some feel this way and some think I'm nuts. Its not a macho thing to think that I could be a soldier in a war I just feel it is my duty to serve my country.

Mike, please tell this father at Basra, who is now laying severely injured in a hospital, and having lost his three daughers in a cluster bomb blast (by the Brits, I guess), that this bomb was thrown at his house to help him. To say this is cynical is a gross understatement.

I wonder what answer you would get! You'd probably be lynched instantly, and no one could be really blamed for it.

Your so-called 'precision' weapons have failed in the last Gulf War, and they still fail. And a cluster bomb is effective, but not really a precision weapon. So claiming to aim at military targets only, and then using cluster bombs that do much harm to everything within 2-300 metres around this 'military' target is, to say the least, arrogant and ingoring.

And how do you explain the use of 'precision' weapons of 1992 age. These are known to fail, but yet they are still in use. This war is bloody and dirty, and far from bringing 'hope' and 'aid' to anyone.

And, a war usually only helps the party starting it. I have never heard of any war that helped any civilians anywhere. Civilians always carry the bulk of devastation, for the sake of the will of some reckless politicians who grossly neglect their responsibility they got with their term.

Regards,
Peter

[mikecweb]

First off I would like to say that I do not blindly follow our President Mr. Bush. I weigh everthing I hear and come up with my own opinions. As far as war crimes.
This war is being waged like no other in history. Nearly 90% of bombs dropped are precision guided. The Iraqi people are not the target just the regime in place.
Why once the US develops an effective weapoin such as the cluster bomb is it automatically assumed it will kill civilians.
Maybe if Switzerland was threatened by terrorists you would understand are want and need for justice.
It is my firm belief that this military action will save far more lives then if Saddam was left in power. Call me crazy. But would you Peter want to live in Iraq under Saddams regime. Didn't think so. Neither would I. Neither do the Iraqi people. Thats why action must be taken. You would sure love for the US to help you if you were in their position.
I hope there is not a person on this earth that wants war. But sometimes it is needed to help people.

[herpa2003]

Somewhere on this board someone recently said that the USA are still a great nation. Are they?

Regards,
Peter

Yes, we are still great. We are liverating the Iraqi civilians, we help ensure that the world that we and oour allies live in is a safe world, we give a lot of aid to third world countries, the list goes on and on.

Hey Mike, you seem to be another one of those 180 million blindfoldedly believing everything your beloved president and military says, huh?

Saying that the USA is 'blood thirsty' is just understatement! Or how would you rate the use of cluster bombs, now being thrown against the Iraqis by the US and British alike? Cluster bombs tend to hit and destroy a lot, and are anything else than a precision weapon. The results are normally hundreds of civilian casualties.

This war is war crime at its best, done by the most blood thirsty nation on this planet. Somewhere on this board someone recently said that the USA are still a great nation. Are they?

Regards,
Peter

[mikecweb]

Hey guys did you ever consider that maybe NBC/MSNBC didn't want Arnett talking on a different TV station without asking them. If another reporter for CBS all of the sudden gave an exclusive to ABC. CBS would fire him.
Here is the thing I love. Everyone who is against the war always finds that little tiny piece of information and then twists it to try to show the US as a "Blood thirsty" nation. If your against the war thats fine. But please get some solid evidence before making a claim on what the US is doing.
Mike Costigliola

[JeffM]

"Well, the Iraqis know where the US troops are without a stupid reporter telling them."

How true, they are now surrounded, so pointing in any direction would make them 100 percent right!

Prior to that, all they had to do was look over their shoulder...

Well, the Iraqis know where the US troops are without a stupid reporter telling them. Geraldo can still clean the toilets .

Regards,
Peter

[JeffM]

Geraldo has not been fired, I just saw him on tv. Looks like the back of his hands were a little red though...

[c72]

News is that FOX also sacked one of their reporters, Spanish name, have not caught it, for obviously broadcasting the location of the unit he was 'embedded' .

JeffM, there's a chance that your level of information starts to improve .

Regards,
Peter

Yeah FOX canned Gerald Riviera.........errrrrr.............Geraldo Rivera.

Reportedly Arnett was hired by a British newspaper after being sacked by CNN.

Regards,
Peter

[Richard]

I never said the govt. or anyone else per se called him a terrorist. But I am sure there are those who view him as being against his country.

[JeffM]

Hey Richard, If your going to try and quote our Constitution, that is great, but, we have Laws against doing and saying certain things that may help the enemy. And besides that, there was no statement from the government to Arnett, It was MSNBC that can't stand to loose any more rating points that decided to can him.

Who is calling him a terrorist?