Bush Press Conference

[Parthini]

Very very very sorry to do this, but it was Kaiser Wilhelm II who almost got Mexico into WWI. Again, sorry. It was just something that stuck in my head.

GPP

[Bad Infinitum]

Yeah, my bad, wrong war. I was still baffled that Kel. thought the Japanese Empire was an inferior enemy.

[Naoi]

I would imagine that they are far more disiplined than our army.

[Alfonia]

BANZAI! anyone? The fact that they used swords in combat all the way through ww2 is interesting I think...

[ALEN]

"bushido"
that would be scary fighting someone who didn't care for their own life

do the officers still have sowrds??

[Bad Infinitum]

The officers still get swords, but they don't carry them into combat. Kind of like the Navy.

And yes, you're right, it is scary. You'd be doing a favor to them by killing them, and it's inhumane to just shoot them in the leg. We never really know what to do with suicide attackers.

Yeah, Alfonia, it's pretty much for show. Tradition, you know?

[Alfonia]

If I remember correctly the USA banned all japanese sword arts after ww2, and even though they were allowed again after about 10 years, I don't think that the japanese self-defence force decided to start using them again...
They probably still have parade sabres and the usual stuff though.

[ALEN]

if bush is re-elected which country gunna be next??

[Alfonia]

Well has he got the guts to fight North Korea? That's a country that needs to be invaded...

[ALEN]

does N.korea have a strong military and does it really have nukes???

[Alfonia]

At least one million fighting men I think, and yes they have the capacity to build nukes.

[turkmenbashy]

That's why Bush will never invade North Korea. Too many nukes, too little oil.

[Parthini]

Ok, this oil business is stupid. We didn't invade Afghanistan for oil. I mean what does gaining control of Afghanistan do anyways? (No offense to any Afghans) I really doubt that oil had anything major to do with Iraq considering, this is just a guesstimate, that the Army isn't focusing on oil defense. Granted, I bet they do have several patrols guarding it, but I haven't seen very many oil depots set up in Iraq lately.

GPP

[Alfonia]

Well there's a difference... The USA was attacked by Al-Qaida, and then invaded Afghanistan, because they offered places for these terrorist to operate from. The USA wasn't attacked by Iraq, and there has been no proven connection between Al-Qaida and Iraq yet.
Still trying to point out that oil was the main reason of the attack on Iraq is as you say, stupid. No doubt that the USA considers the oil a good side-effect though.

So I understand why some people think what they do...

[Bad Infinitum]

We were posted to defend oil deposits a couple of times, but our priority was defending the Iraqi and US citizens from insurgents. Hence the name, Iraqi Freedom.

[Odracir]

If the US is raking in the oil, why is a gallon of gas nearly two bucks now? I'll tell you why, because this isn't an oil war. And Parthini brings up a good point, if Bush is all about oil and personal gains, what did he get from the Afghan invasion?

[Naoi]

I think I was for the war in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida attacked us, so as it was said before, be hit the Taliban because we knew they were working together. And by hitting the Taliban, we freed people.

It kind of seems, from all of the news reports, the the Iraqis really didn't want to be freed. But it brings a tear to my eye everytime I see them in protest. It's not because I'm that much of a patriot... which I am far from. It's a tear of joy, lol and that's not because I hate the war that bad. It's because these people can finally stand up and say what they believe and scream as they wish without threat. They are free to protest... something most of them never before experienced.

As for the war itself, I'm pretty much against it, but I feel that once it is all said and done and after the smoke has cleared, it will have been worth it to introduce freedom to a nation such as Iraq. Those soldiers will not have lost thier lives in vein.(is that the right spelling?)

[Kellopalopalis]

Ad said:

Suash? I'm in the military, and I haven't heard of that tactic yet. Are you affiliated with Delta?

I meant to say squash. Not a military tactic, I know.

[Kellopalopalis]

Ad said:

Yeah, my bad, wrong war. I was still baffled that Kel. thought the Japanese Empire was an inferior enemy.

I may have been misintepreted. I didn't mean that the Japanese Empire was an inferior enemy.

[Down under there]

What bothers me is that Bush used 9/11 for a reson to go to war in Iraq. There were other reasons he could use. I can't see any connection between Iraq and Osama, AlQuaeda, or even terrorism in general. Except that both are Muslim...

And an interesting note here: in the press conference, Bush was talking about terrorism, and said something clost to this, I can't remember the exact wording, "we will avenge ourselves for 9/11 and end AlQuaeda. We promise to bring... people.. to justice."
The natural thing to say there would be Osama. But Bush, apparently, has moved on and already has other "people" in mind. I really hope he's not going to start chasing after someone else.

And while I have his attention, I would like to thank Ad Infinitum for his "everything you ever wanted to ask a soldier." It was very thought-provoking, and a lot of the questions were personal. Thanks for sharing your answers with us.

[Kellopalopalis]

Naoi said:

Those soldiers will not have lost thier lives in vein.(is that the right spelling?)

The "vein" you're referring to is spelled "vain."

[Kellopalopalis]

Let us review the Bush Aministration's 3 reasons for going to war in Iraq.

1) WMD. We all know now that there aren't wmd. Bush misled us. this justification is easily void.

2) Links to Al-Queda. Saddam was a bad person, but didn't really associate with terrorists. Dick Cheney has admitted there was no link between Iraq and Osama. This was just a way to take advantage of our fears. This justification is void.

3) Humanitarian aid. this is the only valid reason for the war in Iraq. people in Iraq were treated very badly under Saddam, but then again, so are people in many other countries. Bush isn't really a humanitarian though, and doesn't try to help people in countries whose dictators weren't involved in wars with his dad. considering 9,000 civilians were killed during the war though, the war didn't really serve humanitarian causes. This reason does not really justify the war in Iraq, and I still fail to see justification in the war.

[Kellopalopalis]

I just love these censors. I was trying to write the name of the vice president. didn't work, "thingy Cheney has admitted there was..."

[Naoi]

thanks for the spelling correction

[Bad Infinitum]

Down said:

And while I have his attention, I would like to thank Ad Infinitum for his "everything you ever wanted to ask a soldier." It was very thought-provoking, and a lot of the questions were personal. Thanks for sharing your answers with us.

No problem man. Some of that stuff I had to talk about...so it was good for everyone. By the way, I'm still open to questions on that thread, but I don't want to gravedig.