Longinius

But it didnt, which leads me to think that there are no peace keepers in Iraq either. They are security forces at best, with a job to guard and secure targets of interest. Of interest to the coalition that is.

Well, since when are there peacekeeping forces in Iraq?

I remember that. One would think they had learned from their mistakes and actually placed guards there by now...

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,463911,00.html This might be interesting for those that can understand Swedish. Its a public chat held by the daily Aftonbladet with a journalist named Urban Hamid from Sweden, who recently was kidnapped and later released in Iraq. He is answering questions about what the situation is like in his area, what the average people think etc.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/16/iraq.nuclear.ap/index.html It would seem that nuclear powerplants in Iraq are not guarded, and material might have been removed from them. So, the US attacks Iraq on the basis of preventing them from spreading or using WMD's. They blow the existing government and infrastructure to bits, leaving radioactive material open for the taking. Isnt that making it a bit easy for terrorists?

I know a couple of guys who are UN soldiers. I grew up with them. They are pretty good at doing stupid shit when drunk, but they are still very good peace keepers. Why? Maybe because they arent drunk when peace keeping... These guys, when drunk, have done everything from beating people up to standing on statues and pissing down on parkbenches. I know for a fact though that they are very diligent peace keepers. A couple of them also work as security guards and they never had any complaints on them from job. When people are drunk they do stupid things. Why else would you get drunk?

These games will come. Right now its about what the market wants, and the market is crazy for WWII shooters. There are however a bunch of Vietnam based games coming. If they are succesful, there will be a bunch more. And if someone made a succesful Cold War shooter I reckon there would be a million of those coming out to.

I dont think these guys have seen just one casualty. They are human like everyone else and exposed to enough shit, they will crack. Thats why troops need to be rotated in good time, before these things start to happen. Everyone becomes a savage in war, given enough time. And suffering.

Wait an hour two until someone posts a link to FOX saying he had an RPG in his pocket.... Ofcourse he couldnt be innocent.

No, mercs and contractors are actually, by definition, pretty much the same. "mer·ce·nar·y ( P ) Pronunciation Key (műrs-nr) adj. 1. Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain. 2. Hired for service in a foreign army."

Well, for a people that has spent the last 10 years or so under the rule of a fierce dictator, with bombs regulary dropped on them from their new liberator I would be surprised if some of them didnt become quite savage when given a chance to strike back.

No, neither did countless of civilians killed all ready in that conflict. Some killed by accident, some killed by indifference and some killed on purpose. He chose to travel into an area where some considered him the enemy, that makes him a target, regardless. There is a difference between desperate men defending their homes, and men invading and occupying their land. While I think killing civilians is wrong, no matter what, I am not that naive as to not understanding that if you push people far enough, they will strike back. With anything and everything they have, at any target they can find. I dont think there is a better time to debate it, except maybe before your life is put on the line. I wouldnt know, I have conducted any polls lately. No, I am calling for George W Bush to get off his high horse, pick up the phones, make some calls and hand it all over to the UN. Admit failure and ask for help in resolving it, and pay the price that help will cost. If Iraq is left to itself, it will probably destroy itself.

At this stage I'd say it would be very hard to conduct some kind of poll and get a result that speaks for most Iraqis. Its not like a western country where you can make polls by phone, mail and email and still reach segments of nearly the entire population that way. The only assumption I am making is that a large portion of the Iraqis do not want the Americans in Iraq anymore. This is based on the current situation in the country. If it was just a few terrorists stirring up trouble, they would have been dealt with. They would never be able to survive without the support of regular people.

"Of 2,652 Iraqis surveyed, the majority said life has got better since the war" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1....tm How were these 2,652 people chosen? Where in Iraq do they live? Who interviewed them? How was the interview conducted? You could easily interview twice as many people, without much effort, and get the opposite result. It just depends on there where, how and who.

No, he chose to travel to a warzone in which his nation is considered the enemy. By doing this, he made himself a target. Its not like he wasnt aware there was a war going on and that Italy was considered the enemy by some. Where in my statement did I say or indicate I was on their side? I merely pointed out that they will do whatever they can to achieve victory, much like most others in similar positions during the course of history. But, nothing suprising with you trying to put words into other peoples mouths. Move along. Again, when have I spoken for Iraqis? I just said that if women and children chose to take up arms against you, something is very, very wrong. And chances are, you are part of the problem. Yes, because it could never be you Avon. You could never be wrong.

He made himself a target. And paid for it. Of course they would. They will probably do anything to achieve victory, like most people backed into a corner, fighting for their lifes, would. His point is that if women and children chose NOT to stay away from battle, but to actively fight you, then you are probably on the wrong side.

Journalists and truck drivers are civilians, like any other. Civilians are covered by the Geneva convention.

You are exactly right. Its a crappy strategy.

"What else would you call people who dismember peoples' bodies? Â If they were radical Christians, I'm sure they would be called savage Christian terrorists." I dont think religion had anything to do with the dismemberment so pointing out they are Islamic is pointless, unless you of course want to make it sound better for propaganda purposes. Further more, that was a crowd of civilians, not terrorists. I would put them closer to geurillas or resistance fighters than terrorists. " Who are the ones currently being attacked in Iraq? Oh yeah that's right, we are--" And why? Could it be because you are occupying the territory after having invaded the country and shot it to pieces? During such circumstances, I think I would attack you to. "Does that mean we should treat their deaths as unimportant, just events to be expected? No, because that's when real chaos will set in--when the value of life becomes unimportant to people." No, chaos sets in when some people are more valuable than others, not because of personal ties but because of religion and nationality. I have yet to see any americans here posting the same kind of propaganda drivel about the thousands of dead Iraqi civilians. So please, dont try to make it come across as if the lives of Iraqi civilians are even comparably as important as the live of american soldiers.

"I wish you would post a comparable thing for every innocent civillian killed in Iraq. People get killed. It´s war. He knew it could get dangerous. He knew about the risks. He died. Like others did in thousands." Only, he got paid for it... "If they want a memorial fund, why don't they establish one?" Because they dont have the luxury of Western wealth and abundance?

"Eh? I don't speak German, can you tell me what 'Einsatz' means in English?" Einsatz roughly means "insertion" or "deployment".

You want stories? I got stories.... Breaking The Law Its a dark fall night, a slight drizzle falling from the sky. I am driving my Volvo 240 (no laughing!!) on my way home from a hamburger run, stereo blasting away. Speeding down the main road through the city, sliiiightly above the speed limit, I suddenly see a "bobbing" red light in the middle of the road. Going up, down, up, down. I ponder as to what this might be, as I see no other lights, no vehicles, no people. As I draw closer, the light starts to bob faster. Closer still, I can see two thin, white stripes next to the light. White stripes? "Shit! A cop!". I realise this not very far from the officer in question, now frantically waving his torch and gesturing me to pull over. I hit the breaks and throw the car to the side of the road, into the bus-spot indicated by the officer. Hidden in the shadows is his cruiser and his partner, both approaching the car. A gentle tap on my window, and I begin to lower it, the music blasting out into the night sky. The fairly young police officer looks in and grins. Suddenly, the lyrics strike me... "Feel as though nobody cares If I live or die So I might as well begin To put some action in my life Breaking the law, breaking the law!!" Hmmm, I always knew metal was bad for you. The police officer shakes his head and tells me "You are lucky, I think, that this is just a sobriety test and not a speed test. As I can see you are clearly in a hurry, and I can hear you got your mind on other things, we will try to get this over with as soon as possible...." Over all, a pretty nice guy. Considering I almost ran him down, while listening to Judas Priest and eating french fries (thats freedom fries to you guys over seas).

America's Army SHOULD be better, seeing as it was released several years after Ghost Recon.

I just read an article about this in a Swedish newspaper and they had interviewed a swedish police office from some task force against organised crime. According to him this was most likely the work of a group of international criminals with connections in most countries in the region. These contacts provide them with targets, weapons, vehicles etc and then proffesional (ex military?) criminals go in and do the job. Then they leave, probably escape to a neighboring Scandinavian country, Further more, these guys could have done a lot more damage than they did. The show of restraint probably means that they have done this before, and are comfortable doing it. So, we are going to see more of this I reckon.

Its all about how you ask the questions, and who you ask. Asking: "Was the battle of Endor an actual historical event?" and "Was the battle of Endor in the movie Star Wars an actual historical event?" Will get you quite different answers. It becomes even more interesting if you ask someone who doesnt give a hoot about TV or Sci Fi and only paid moderate attention in school, but wants to maintain the impression of being educumacated ;)