mr mahs

OKAY Frenchie here we go... What you pointed out is that up until 8:45 Sept 11th The United States was a fairy tale land. Americans weren't aware of the real threat of terrorism, it was only something you read about or watched on TV that took place in other countries to far to devote any time from our busy scheduule to even fathom... Seriously didn't EVERYONE think a private small plane hit the first tower?? It wasn't until the shock of the second plane hiting the 2nd tower that Americans knew it was under attack.. To say our intelligence which every american was sure would protected us FAILED would be an understatement. The Clinton administration cut spending for military and intelligence but I won't point fingers because we got caught sleeping...I agree with your examples there but to say that ANYONE knew it was really going to happen I disagree. The United states gets THOUSANDS of threats every day and pre 911 we did not have the resources or the initiative to respond.. The fact is we can point fingers at everyone all day long but what would that solve?? Did you ever think that the gov't would not want an investigation because it would show to the world we were weak. Would you want to show other nations how the worlds only superpower got caught with it's thumb in it's ass? or would you just rapidly plug the holes in the system by 1)Developing a Dept for Homeland Security2)Increasing military spending 3)Lift the restraints on your intellignce so it can better detect and destroy future threats plus countless other things that make us safer. Beleive me they know how they dropped the ball although not everyone has to know except the people fixing it.. To the ant-war or conspiracy thinkers why complain and show our weaknesses? Why would you expend so much energy to show the faults but not follow through with constructive advice?? That is lame bro.. we all live in this country together and whether you beleive it or not people are planning as we speak to destroy it.. I asked the people who critisize the govt on this board this very question but no one responds... How would you deal with terorism against the United States or would you rather it be destroyed???

George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn into office January 20, 2001, after a campaign in which he outlined sweeping proposals to reform America's public schools, transform our national defense, provide tax relief, modernize Social Security and Medicare, and encourage faith-based and community organizations to work with government to help Americans in need. President Bush served for six years as the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, where he earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative who shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control. President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and he grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1968, then served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. After graduating, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled the group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. He served as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers until he was elected Governor on November 8, 1994, with 53.5 percent of the vote. He became the first Governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998, with 68.6 percent of the vote. Since taking office, President Bush has signed into law bold initiatives to improve public schools by raising standards, requiring accountability, and strengthening local control. He has signed tax relief that provided rebate checks and lower tax rates for everyone who pays income taxes in America. He has increased pay and benefits for America's military and is working to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. He is also committed to ushering in a responsibility era in America, and has called on all Americans to be "citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building communities of service and a Nation of character." Vice President Cheney Biography Laura Bush Biography Lynne Cheney Biography Multimedia Room The attacks of September 11th changed America - and in President Bush's words, "in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment." President Bush declared war against terror and has made victory in the war on terrorism and the advance of human freedom the priorities of his Administration. Already, the United States military and a great coalition of nations have liberated the people of Afghanistan from the brutal Taliban regime and denied al Qaeda its safe haven of operations. Thousands of terrorists have been captured or killed and operations have been disrupted in many countries around the world. In the President's words, "our Nation - this generation - will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The Bush family also includes their two dogs, Spot and Barney, and a cat,

:laugh: That's great..

:laugh: International relations, for who? Al qeada..

Are you fucking kidding me??? Doesn't do alot for woman and minorities?? You are sick I swear!!! The gov't sets aside billions in grants and loans for single mom's and minorities. A college will give you a free education if you are a poor minority. I can't fucking beleive IT, seriously how you can compare the 2 socities I felt like putting my head threw the monitor when I read that... COMPLETE HORSE SHIT....

1st- The ny. times has been scrutinized for it's one sided view. I was miami for the conference and only had access to CNN, BBC and got the N.Y. times delivered to my hotel room. Reading the times it looked like we were losing the war... 2nd. The article was written by a author in Beirut who does not make one reference to the proven fact that sadam is responsible for most of the bombing and killing of innocent Iraqi's.. The tomahawk and other ordinance are designed not to explode if thrown of course..The killing of innocent Iraqi's and blaming it on the U.S. is SADAM'S only way of dealing with the us... I will say it agin why don't you condemn the actions of the Iraqi regime instead of saying that America is the infidel?????

Sassa, This military campaign is the revolutionary way war will be fought going forward. If we did bomb the hosp which I highly doubt, it is alot better then the parking lot Iraq could have been 14 days ago and you know it. The bombing in bahgdad were a market place was hit last week was proven to be anti- aircraft ordinance that fell back to earth. Centcom always discloses when a mistake is made just like when the service men shot at the van that crossed the check point killing 7 people. It was later confirmed by a SHITE Iman that the Iraqi republican guard were forcing people drive past the checkpoint or they will kill their families.. Sadam is commiting attrocities against his own people every day but not you or any other ant-war liberal on this board says one word why??

He wasn't as fortunate as you to attend diffrent schools around the world.. What is your major anyway????

Which way the wiping of the ass?? lol Sassa, Seriously I love being an american!! My parents came here from Italy and have given me the oppurtunies for a better life. The statement is true no other country is better the U.S.of A

Raver, list a diffrent EFFECTIVE way we could have handled Sadam before the war?

So blind.. You are the one who is distorted with your blame america first way of thinking. What I pointed out was that if we created Bin-laden which might be true even though we sopported him in another war, what do we do about it?? Why are all the people that are against the U.S. actions regarding the fight against terrorism so quick to point fingers but OFFER NO SOLUTIONS do you know how dumb that sounds. Yeah and the Iraqi people as well as thre rest of the world won't be a better place when that lunatic in Iraq is gone right? You have got to stop hanging out with your wanna be hippie college buddies and realize that this war is for the better on many difrent ways... You come across as a real horror I mean someone who complains about EVERYTHING even stuck up... I have never met you so I really don't know.. Oh and to the rest of the world that hates america You are not qualified enough to wipe the ass of any american...

So if we made Bin-laden and I am not saying we didn't do we just leave it alone?? What does that solve? It's like not putting out the fire that is trying to destroy your house because you left the stove on... makes no sense. Forget we created Bin laden that was then this is now we can'tr change that but we can try to make the future better.... Oh and for insults... Kiss my American ass you half a queer frenchman!!!

The majority of protesters are wanna be hippies who only protest to protest. The tree huggers offer no solution just... "AARHHH WAR IS BAD" when asked for a solution they state the gov't should figure it out.....

My best freind went into the marines about 5years back when all of us were either in college or persuing other careers.. This kid was 21 years old and had nothing going for him , I mean he would sit home and rot on his couch.. He goes to the Marines after bootcamp came home completely diffrent. One thing I noticed was 2 days out of bootcamp we were the mall and he thought a group of kids were trying to abuse his haircut. He didn't scream like a goon or say what's your promblem but you can see the look in his eye.. His shoulders were slightly raised trying to observ the next move of his possible prey.. just crazy. He eventually returned back to the original kid personality wise but he works for the TSA, engaged and waiting to get into the FDNY so to say it was the best thing for his future is an understatment

Q&A: Baghdad's underground city Our specia- ops boys will smoke this fucker out.... A tunnel complex has been discovered near the international airport outside Baghdad. With many more inside the capital, Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor, left, explains how their presence might affect the battle for Baghdad What do we know of the tunnels discovered at the Baghdad airport today? We don't know much detail about the tunnels discovered around the airport outside Baghdad. However, they may have been used by units of the Special Republican Guard, as there was a base for these elite troops found near the airport. We are just scratching the surface of what we think is in Baghdad. We could be entering as critical phase of the campaign to expose and capture the tunnels and bunkers that Saddam Hussein has had constructed throughout Baghdad. How might Baghdad's tunnel complex affect coalition strategy for the city? The coalition commanders know that the war can be concluded quickly if they manage to capture or kill Saddam Hussein. The alternative could be a risky campaign involving the taking of the city street-by-street, which could be very costly in terms of civilian and coalition casualties. The tunnels and bunkers will make the job of finding Saddam Hussein and his commanders very difficult. Since the 1970s he has spent millions of dollars constructing these complexes under presidential palaces and elsewhere. The coalition probably does not know where all of them are located. How much do we know about Baghdad's bunkers and tunnels? We do have some knowledge, gleaned mainly from the east European and Swiss companies that constructed them. One structure we know of is under the main Presidential Palace, near the Tigris river in central Baghdad. It has been hit repeatedly since the first day of the war, when coalition air strikes acting on covert intelligence attempted to kill Saddam Hussein before hostilities had begun in earnest. There is also a bunker under a guesthouse in the complex. The German firm that built it describes is as having three floors above ground amounting to 40,000 sq ft of floor space. The bunker complex beneath has 14 rooms, amounting to 14,000 sq ft. It has five-foot thick reinforced concrete walls and is 30 feet below ground. There are several other bunkers scattered around the city and it is logical to assume that the coalition forces will not know the location of all of them. This is because their value diminishes once their location is known, as this turns them into places in which Saddam Hussein and his cohorts could be trapped. The bunker under the main Presidential Palace is thought to only have two exits. What will coalition troops find if they capture a bunker? George Galloway, the Labour MP, visited Saddam Hussein in one of his bunkers and describes being taken down in a high-speed lift, which caused his ears to pop as he descended. He described the interior as "elaborate and comfortable". The complexes will be well-equipped, but I think we can discard the more fanciful rumours about underground railway stations and the like. Aside from their use as places for the Iraqi leadership to hide, they could also be used as places to store Saddam's chemical and biological weapons arsenal. When the United Nations weapons inspectors searched one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces last year they found empty chemical weapons shells. What success have air strikes had against the bunkers? The companies that built some of them have said that the US "bunker-buster" bombs will not be adequate to penetrate the bunkers' defences. This is because they have been designed to withstand nuclear attack. So it may be left to special forces or other ground troops have to find and capture the tunnels and bunkers. However, the bunker under the main Presidential Palace was damaged during the1991 Gulf War. Whether the air strikes will be successful this time around is open to question. After the 1991 war reports emerged that suggested Saddam Hussein had been hiding in a residential area of Baghdad with only a few guards. Anonymity may prove a better defence against the coalition than nuclear-proof bunkers.

Socialism and Communism does not work look at Russia and some european countries. You are the only one responsible for your wealth & future no one else.. Is the world in a better situation especially post 911??? How is removing the regime and electing a gov't that actually gives a shit about's it's people a bad thing seriously... I really wish the antiwar people see Sadam has killed more of his own people in the last 25 years then 10 Gulf wars put together.. -The United states does not intentionally kill civilians.. -The United States doesn't torture or EXECUTE it's POW'S -The United states doesn't use it's own people as human sheilds.. -The U.S will make sure the revenue from the oil for food program will go directly to the Iraqi people. Once the gov't is operational and I am sure we will be repaid for the liberation but is that really bad?? Let's say the oil wells rebuild the country and repay america directly or indirectly isn't Iraq and the people who live there in a better position??? I just can't fathom how anybody in their right mind can be against this operation ...

[but politics is a very dirty game...and that will never change...because the system is set up that way...everyone turns their heads when their congressmen and senators accept bribes from random organizations and individuals whose interests lie in how political history is played out...they manipulate things...like this war...can't you see that it is nothing but a show...an elaborate plan....these people are fucking smart that is for sure....they've managed to pull the wool over the majority of people's eyes...and the sad part is, you can't reach them because they are so engrossed in it.... Another conspiratis theory so stale.... this might be wrong, but i really wish you pro-war people would see things from a more universal, open approach...no one wants to die, no one wants war....our governments are fucking us all over....everyone in the world should revolt and create a system that is open and acceptable to everyone....evenly dividing the wealth so that we can all benefit from it... Socialism and Communism does not work look at Russia and some european countries. You are the only one responsible for your future no one else.. Is the world in a better situation especially post 911??? How is removing the regime and electing a gov't that actually gives a shit about's it's people a bad thing seriously... I really wish the antiwar people see Sadam has killed more of his own people in the last 25 years then 10 Gulf wars put together.. -The United states does not intentionally kill civilians.. -The United States doesn't torture or EXECUTE it's POW'S -The United states doesn't use it's own people as human sheilds.. -The U.S will make sure the revenue from the oil for food program will go directly to the Iraqi people. Once the gov't is operational and I am sure we will be repaid for the liberation but is that really bad?? Let's say the oil wells rebuild the country and repay america directly or indirectly isn't Iraq and the people who live there in a better position??? I just can't fathom how anybody in their right mind can be against this operation ...

You think it matters to a serviceman that Eddie Veder supports them.. but in the same breathe talks trash about the gov't and the President.. What do you think drives those serviceman to be willing to fight??? The love they have for this country stupid, they don't give a shit about you tree huggers that protest the war but are so dellusional that they can't come up with another solution... You and Eddie vedder can take your "I support the troops" cop out and GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!!

Okay fine but I was trying to illustrate that Iraq and Kuwait are practically the same country with the same lucrative natural resources but one is a shithole the other isn't why????

That's the game plan. Convince the societies that there leadership is crap and can't opress it's people anymore. Iraq will be the model the rest of the middle east will follow once liberation is complete and Iraq prospers

Iran is a tricky situation.. Bush commented that the Iranian people especially the younger generations are adopting western values and don't see eye to eye with their gov't. I also rememebr reading that last election had a very low turnout and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei has been trying to stir anti americanism to gain support. He was also qouted in a speech in Iran stating the minute Iran has a nuclear weapon is the minute Isreal gets nuked and doesn't care if there is a nuclear exchange because he is willing to commit his whole country to martydom.. How do we deal with this guy???

He wasn't responsible it fell on his lap. GW walked into the end of a record expansion cycle generated from inflated stock valuation of internet and technology stocks. The wealth factor that was created from skyrocketed stock prices pumped up the GDP to over 6% in 2000 so Greenspan and company afraid of inflation decided to raise rates to slow it down...When capitol investments the lagging contributer to the GDP returns things will be rosie again. This will happen post Operation Iraqi freedom and excess technology left over from the 90's is depleted.

Lawmakers Rush to Aid Military Families Thursday, April 03, 2003 By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are expected to push aggressively for new and expedited benefits and services for military families now that the numbers of killed, missing in action and prisoners of war are increasing, experts say. “Everyone is scrambling to see what they can do,” observed Kathy Moakler of the National Military Family Association, a non-profit advocacy group that facilitates aid for military families and educates the public, the military community and Congress on available benefits and services. There are several measures afoot in Congress to aid military families, with at least two that would directly affect family members of those servicemen and women killed in action. As of Thursday, there were 51 Americans killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Monday, the Senate passed a bill introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, which would increase the death gratuity to survivors of those killed in action to $12,000 from $6,000. House aides say there might be a similar provision rolled into the defense budget. “We can never fully repay the debt of our nation to those who have laid down their lives for the cause of freedom,” Collins said after her bill was passed Monday. “The best we can do is honor their memory, ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain and help provide for their families,” she added. The gratuity is given to family members within 72 hours of the death of an active duty serviceman or woman. The last time that the death gratuity was raised was in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. At that time, it was increased from $3,000 to $6,000. Last week, the House passed a bill introduced by Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C., which would make the current $6,000 gratuity entirely tax exempt. “Our troops, both past and present must know Congress stands behind them 100 percent," Jones said following the vote. "If these men and women can stand to give their lives as they fight for our freedom, then the least we can do is vote to benefit their way of life." According to Department of Defense officials, there are number of benefits, in addition to the gratuity, which serve to help survivors maintain their quality of life after tragedy. They include: — Rent-free government housing for 180 days and paid moving expenses; — Burial costs; — The unused leave of the service member; — Life insurance totaling $250,000 or more depending on individual’s plan; — Social Security benefits; — Lifelong healthcare, prescription drugs and dental care; — Lifelong commissary and exchange privileges; — Forty-five months of education tuition provided by the Veterans Administration Education Benefit; and — Dependency and Indemnity Compensation pay, which is a lifelong monthly check to surviving spouses who don't remarry. The payment is $945 per month, with an additional $234 for each dependent child under 18 years. Some survivors also qualify for monthly payments under the Uniformed Services Survivor Benefit. Immediately after notification of a loved one’s death, family members are assigned a casualty assistance officer who steers the bereaved through the labyrinth of benefits and services, said Moakler. There are also family support centers on each military installation and through each of the branches of the armed services. “You can never, never replace that service member,” she said. “But it is a very good package.” Family members of American prisoners of war and missing in action, of which there are officially seven and 16 respectively as of Wednesday, will continue to get their regular benefits. There is also a strong network of support services for families available to them, according to Jim Russell, chief of the missing persons branch of the Air Force Casualty Matters Division. While the focus is trying to get their loved one back, he said, service members’ spouses and children are afforded certain benefits, like tuition and health care, as well as housing on base for at least a year. The service members’ pay is continued and it’s exempt from federal income taxes, said Russell. “We really try to help the families out – from a support standpoint, not only just benefits,” he said, adding that his office acts as a liaison for family members, distributing any information about their loved one that the military can provide. “We, too, are looking for a happy ending.” Yet nothing can replace the dread felt by military families whose relatives are killed, missing or held captive. Families of American POWs were given little hope Monday as eleven bodies were discovered in and near the hospital where Pfc. Jessica Lynch, a POW, was found alive. Lynch was one of 13 Americans from the 507th Maintenance Division who disappeared after their convoy was ambushed in the early days of the war. The bodies had not been identified Wednesday, but at least some were believed to be Americans, a military spokesman said. Five other members of the 507th Maintenance Division are confirmed POWs. Family members of those casualties and prisoners all would receive services from the military. Scott VanDerheyden, a Marine Corps Persian Gulf War veteran who works with the National Veterans Service Fund in Connecticut, said private organizations outside of the bureaucracy are good at filling in the gap in family assistance, as well putting families in touch with the right aid – whether it be government benefits or outside assistance. He said he expects that now that the number of dead servicemen is rising, there will be intense lobbying on behalf of lawmakers to ensure that families are getting the help they are entitled to. “There is a lot of bureaucracy involved and I would assume that the government would do everything possible to make the process as painless as they can,” VanDerheyden said. “Hopefully, with the help of a lot of federal, state and local lawmakers, they can push hard for the process to be expedited.”

I can't even begin to tell you how crazy and destorted that comment is.. better then sadam? c'mon you are an intelligent person,I think..

Is that what happened in Kuwait?? Where europeans are migrating today because it's a beautiful place in the middle east. Kuwait is the equivalent of florida breaking away from the U.S.. Why is it that the two places Iraq and Kuwait are like night and day?? Dude don't be so pessimistic , got to hope for the better it's not a democratic administration spearheading this operation:D