Text 311, 97 rader
Skriven 2009-10-04 15:05:00 av Lee Lofaso (3:800/432.0)
    Kommentar till text 294 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: Re: WWII (was SocialSecu
================================
Hello Ward,

>LL>Why did the US decide to engage in hostilities against Japan?  Was
>LL>it really because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? I don't
>LL>think so. The real reason, in my opinion, is because the American
>LL>people DEMANDED their leaders (the President and the Congress) to
>LL>take action. In other words, because of the strong reaction of the
>LL>American people over the unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor, our
>LL>leaders had no choice but to respond, in a big way.

WD>That's democracy for you ... the will of the people.

That's right.  What do the people want?  That is the question.
And that is true everywhere.  Not just in the USA.

>LL>Keep in mind that Osama bin Laden was fully aware of Pearl Harbor
>LL>and its aftermath.  For him, and al-Qaeda, the US invasion of Iraq
>LL>was an extra gift.

WD>In the case of Pearl Harbor it is clear who attacked who.

Everybody knew who did it.  After the attack, it was a case
of revenge.  Not just national defense.  Japanese and Japanese
Americans were targeted and acts of violence committed against
them inside the USA.  Even though they had nothing to do with
what had happened.  FDR rounded them up, placed them in what
amounted to being American gulags, and even sent some of them
(including children) who could only speak English to Japan.

WD>In the case of 9/11 it is not at all clear. Technically it
WD>was Saudi Arabia which attacked the US.

Of the 19 terrorists, 15 were from Saudi Arabia and 4 from Pakistan.
And like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Arabs inside this country
were targeted for revenge, even though they had nothing to do with what
had happened.  GWB placed many of those Arabs and Muslims in detention,
without charges, similar to what FDR had done in the 1940's.  Only on
a smaller scale.  It did not matter who they were.  During FDR's reign
of terror it was yellow skin, slanty eyes, wrong religion.  During GWB's
reign of terror it was dark skin, kinky hair, wrong religion.

WD>GWB was also fully aware of the history of Afghanistan.
WD>The number of times it was invaded and occupied by even
WD>the largest land-army in the world (USSR) but never
WD>conquered.

It is easy to conquer Afghanistan.  The British did it.  Twice.  The
Russians did it.  Once.  The Americans did it, too.  Once. The problem
is subjugation.  The Afghan people are a tribal people whose population
has never been fully subjugated by any foreign occupation power.

WD>I wonder where his military advisors had gotten their degree to even
WD>think such a military conflict could be won. Is that the quality of
WD>West Point?

You cannot win the hearts and minds of a people by bringing them
democracy (or anything else) at the point of a gun.  No matter how
long we stay we can never win.  Nor can any other foreign power.
Like Vietnam and all other places, we will leave Afghanistan.  And
we will leave Iraq.  The Vietnamese are still in Vietnam.  The
Afghans will still be in Afghanistan.  And the Iraqis will still
be in Iraq.  And they will do things their way.  Not our way, or
anybody else's way.

WD>Yet also GWB declined to learn the lesson from history.

Give the people what they want.  They will get what they want
anyway.  Better to give them what they want now rather than later.

WD>That also goes for almost all US participants in this echo
WD>who 7-8 years ago were yodling the same tune while people
WD>with a brain already said:

WD>1) that war cannot be won
WD>2) there are no WMD's
WD>3) thousands of American families
WD>   will have to grieve for beautiful
WD>   young men and women who died a
WD>   senseless death because of a Moron
WD>   President whom nobody knew how to
WD>   depose.

Oh, plenty people knew how to depose a dictator.  Especially the people
in the military.  But was the military willing to conduct a coup d'etat
in the land of the free against an unelected president?  Well, we all
know the answer to that one...

Meanwhile, one of the WMD's is rumored to be somewhere in the Dallas
suburbs, the other WMD being at a secure and undisclosed location.

--Lee


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