igloo Posted December 20 Report Share Posted December 20 ROUNDING 'EM UP By RALPH PETERS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------December 19, 2003 -- THERE are three essential rules for men to live by: Never write checks to your mistress on an account you share with your wife; never wear any article of clothing featured in a New York Times fashion supplement; and, if you're a dictator-on-the-run, never carry 500 pages of key information about your resistance movement around in your suitcase. The circumstances and images of Saddam's capture will reverberate for decades, with profound psychological and practical consequences in the Middle East and beyond. But the most immediate and tangible results have come from the documents he carried. With breathtaking speed, our intelligence professionals in Iraq began scouring those papers for actionable data. They found it. And they continue to find it. In Baghdad, Samarra and elsewhere, U.S. Army units launched a series of raids that scooped up key coordinators and financiers from the Ba'athist resistance, along with significant numbers of the middle managers and line supervisors of terror. One raid brought in over 70 enemy operatives, another netted 30. Less visible operations round up more of the sponsors of terror every day. This matters. It's huge. Contrary to Howard Dean's sour-grapes whining, Saddam's apprehension certainly has made America safer. Even more obviously, it's making Iraq a safer place for our troops. The calculus isn't hard: When you take into custody significant numbers of Ba'athist terrorists - directors, financiers, middlemen, assassins - it keeps GIs alive. Attacks on our troops will continue, and cynics will discount our success. But just wait. After the Ba'athists still at large squander their assets attempting to prove that they remain a viable force, strikes against our forces will dwindle in number. We'll see flurries of attacks as the transition to Iraqi self-government approaches, then in an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential elections. But our enemies have been severely crippled in a single week. They'll never fully recover. We'll never know how many potential attacks were prevented by the arrest of hundreds of key players in the resistance or by the seizure of their funds and weaponry. But we can be assured that many American soldiers will return, alive and well, to their families who otherwise would have died or been disabled. Countless Iraqi lives have been saved, as well. And there's even more good news: The ultimate power of the documents seized with Saddam is even greater than the information actually in those pages. Apart from the wave of arrests weakening our enemies, the beauty of the thing is that, while the die-hards have heard that we captured Saddam's personal papers, none of those still on the loose know exactly what was in those documents. No resistance leader, double agent or back-alley facilitator knows whether or not his name and whereabouts were on one of Saddam's lists. None knows for certain which safe houses or money conduits have been compromised. They don't know which arms caches or rendevous points we're watching in the dead of night. It's their turn to live in fear of ambushes. What your enemy doesn't know you don't know is almost as powerful as knowing it. The movers and shakers in the Ba'athist terror movement are diving for cover, praying they haven't been compromised. When your primary worry is your own safety, it's hard to organize an effective resistance campaign. And frightened men make mistakes, which lead to other mistakes. We just need to keep up the pressure. Saddam was traveling light. The documents he kept with him would have been of two kinds: Indispensable information of enduring value, and recent reports not yet destroyed. All of it helps us. Beyond the data guiding our current operations, much of the information will take time to come into focus. Some names and references will remain unclear until other captured documents or interrogation results suddenly lead to the "Ah-hah!" moment. Saddam wasn't lugging around the collected works of the Ba'athist terror movement. But he was packing the Cliff Notes. Just in time for our mid-term exams. Unless you're an anti-war Democratic presidential aspirant who's been yelling "Where's Saddam?" for the last six months, there's no downside to this week's cascade of successes in Iraq. Even with all that's been written on the subject, we haven't begun to realize the importance of these epochal events. But there's one thing of which we can be certain: Our soldiers have given all of us a tremendous holiday gift by capturing the Herod of our time before he and his henchmen could slaughter more innocents. Ralph Peters is the author of "Beyond Baghdad." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normalnoises Posted December 20 Report Share Posted December 20 DIE IGLOO!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youarehot99 Posted December 20 Report Share Posted December 20 Originally posted by normalnoises DIE IGLOO!!! haha good comeback, hippy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRles Posted December 21 Report Share Posted December 21 Originally posted by normalnoises DIE IGLOO!!! Don't worry igloo most of us support you here whether we're Republicans or Democrats. It's sad to see that there's a few ppl on this board who really are a threat to this country, who support dictators, and who support terrorists. USA = A democracyIraq, Iran, Libya = countries ruled by dictators and extremistsUnlike Bush or Clinton, dictators don't step down from office after 4-8 years. Further proof that Sadam's capture was a good thing:http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=libya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igloo Posted December 21 Author Report Share Posted December 21 Originally posted by CHRles Don't worry igloo most of us support you here whether we're Republicans or Democrats. It's sad to see that there's a few ppl on this board who really are a threat to this country, who support dictators, and who support terrorists. USA = A democracyIraq, Iran, Libya = countries ruled by dictators and extremistsUnlike Bush or Clinton, dictators don't step down from office after 4-8 years. Further proof that Sadam's capture was a good thing:http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=libya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igloo Posted December 21 Author Report Share Posted December 21 Originally posted by youarehot99 haha good comeback, hippy.... Just ignore him or it. A clear social misfit with obvious mental defects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksimons Posted December 21 Report Share Posted December 21 USA = A democracyIraq, Iran, Libya = countries ruled by dictators and extremistsyes.but who helped put them there...jesus...I can't be fucked... there's just too many of 'em cap'in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igloo Posted December 21 Author Report Share Posted December 21 Originally posted by marksimons USA = A democracyIraq, Iran, Libya = countries ruled by dictators and extremistsyes.but who helped put them there...jesus...I can't be fucked... there's just too many of 'em cap'in Blame America. blame AmericaSTFU loser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRles Posted December 21 Report Share Posted December 21 The former Soviet Union helped Iran, Iraq, and Libya for one.The USA and Iran were on very friendly terms up until the chaotic/fundamental revolution took place there in 1979. Libya has been at the top of America's blacklist since 1987 with the Pan Am incident.Iraq may have gotten some help from the USA in the 80s when it was fighting Iran from 1981-1989. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 the US was furious at Sadam. Yes, it was oil interests that came into play, and both the American and Kuwait public at large knew it. The US was afraid at the time to also free the Kurds since that would have also involved parts of Turkey and Iran. America didn't want to get all tangled up in that situation, which may have been a serious miscalculation at the time, but the primary goals were acheived. America doesn't like to get into wars, it is usually provoked by other countries first. It's b/c of ppl like Mark Simmons that America couldn't join the war against Germany in WWII sooner. It had to wait until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksimons Posted December 21 Report Share Posted December 21 hitler had invaded a fair portion of europe and it was the russians who really saved us - they lost 25 million souls in that war.well, the thing is the iran fuck up was created by america, there was a us puppet dictator installed in the 50's and he ruled until the islamic revoution of the 70's.the cold war.well that was mainly american paranoia post war, coupled with money making, geniune ideological differences and fearing the worst...america has been involved in a lot over seas.how was america provoked into the korean war, which has resulted in north korea being the way it is, what about vietnam, what about the support of dictators in brazil and other places.it's not all america's fault, but you have to see how america says one thing and does another in the eyes of many people in the world, they're basing this on first hand experience of american policy and companies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRles Posted December 21 Report Share Posted December 21 "hitler had invaded a fair portion of europe and it was the russians who really saved us - they lost 25 million souls in that war."Ummm, don't forget that the USSR was ON HITLERS SIDE until Hitler double crossed them. "well, the thing is the iran fuck up was created by america, there was a us puppet dictator installed in the 50's and he ruled until the islamic revoution of the 70's."As opposed to other Arab countries in the Middle East where the leader isn't a dictator? The relationship with America brought a lot of progress to Iran, and all of that went down the drain after the revolution of 1979. do you have any idea how many of their own ppl that new Iranian government killed? I can't believe you actually blame America here."the cold war.well that was mainly american paranoia post war, coupled with money making, geniune ideological differences and fearing the worst..."American paranoia?! The USSR was on hitler's side at first, the USSR KILLED 20 million of its own ppl before 1939 (simply b/c they did not support the Commuynist party) . "america has been involved in a lot over seas.how was america provoked into the korean war, which has resulted in north korea being the way it is, what about vietnam, what about the support of dictators in brazil and other places."Again, there was the Domino Effect theory, and the USSR had a hand in turning North Korea and Vietnam into a Communist territory. The US knew of Russia's ambitions, especially after what they had done with Eastern Europe. I wouldn't exactly call it paranoia. "it's not all america's fault, but you have to see how america says one thing and does another in the eyes of many people in the world, they're basing this on first hand experience of american policy and companies... "No shit! Nothing wrong with protecting American investments in my opinion. It doesn't take away from the fact that dangerous dictators should be handled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpoppanils Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 Originally posted by CHRles Libya = countries ruled by dictators and extremists and now an ally of the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRles Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 I seriously doubt the US looks at Libya asn ally, and I believe Kadafi is still seen as a threat. Just b/c he says he's willing to cooperate doesn't mean his intentions are good. We'll have to wait and see about that one.Remember, Libya was seen as threat even before the Pan Am incident in 1987. Even the ppl on this board who can't culturally read some history can surely rent a movie such as Back To The Future from 1985. See how terrorists from that country are depcited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillfire Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 good comebacks, just blame everything on Russia. I mean its been done in US for years and years... via media and etc. so there is no reason why you shouldn't believe what the movies and james bond says Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiroguy1 Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 Originally posted by CHRles Don't worry igloo most of us support you here whether we're Republicans or Democrats. It's sad to see that there's a few ppl on this board who really are a threat to this country, who support dictators, and who support terrorists. Can you be more specific? I don't think anyone here has said that they support any dictators or "terrorists". If they did, we would be all over them. It's a truly a shame if you you think that anyone in this forum would defend Saddam or Osama bin ladin.Originally posted by CHRles I seriously doubt the US looks at Libya asn ally, and I believe Kadafi is still seen as a threat. Just b/c he says he's willing to cooperate doesn't mean his intentions are good. We'll have to wait and see about that one.Remember, Libya was seen as threat even before the Pan Am incident in 1987. Even the ppl on this board who can't culturally read some history can surely rent a movie such as Back To The Future from 1985. See how terrorists from that country are depcited. Well if Steven Speilberg says Lybians are the enemy in 'Back to the future', then they're the enemy. The US is considering him an aly as of the last couple days. Read up there, buddy.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20183-2003Dec21.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmatas2277 Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 Originally posted by bigpoppanils and now an ally of the US opening up to inspection DOES NOT make them a US ally...dont expect Omar coming over to any White House dinners anytime soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djxeno Posted December 22 Report Share Posted December 22 so Igloo since you like Bush so much tell us why you like him, you all know why we hate him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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