Roger I had promised myself I was not going to post any more on this subject but some of the things you have said just are incorrect and not justifiable at all...... In a message dated 29/09/01 8:51:01 PM, baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca writes: <<"Make no mistake there while there is great support Internationally for America over this horrendous disaster. There is also a great deal of pressure to exercise temperance.">> Give one instance so far in which the U.S. has not "execised restraint" in this current situation. Think rrrrreal hard now. Name one place we have bombed, one person we have killed, one town we have attacked.....just what do you call "restraint"??? <<"This is not AMERICA'S NEW WAR as you your press likes to brag and glorify, but a global problem. Travel out side your own country, and you will see an entirely different perspective.">> Perhaps it is not "Americas New War" but if it is the rest of the worlds 'Old War'....Why is it still going on? Or does the rest of the "world" feel that it is beneath their dignity to sully their hands on the "terrorism" thingee? <<"My home city in the UK is home to the Royal Marine Commando unit's. They are already in Afghanistan. Just like they were first to go in, in the gulf war.">> This is just a crock and that is not meant to demean the efforts and gallant duty performed by the SAS or the RMC's. While it is true that the only gunfight to have been reported was between a SAS unit and the Afghan Army it was because the SAS unit was almost caught by the Afghan Army and required the gunfight to get away. The fact that a SAS unit has been reported in Afghan does not mean they are the 'only' units there or that they were there 'first'. As for the Gulf War They were absoulutely not 'there first'...a good friend of mine was Commander of the first SW team in Kuwait they were inserted on the second day of the Kuwati Occupation by Iraq. And who was/is first doesn't make a hill of beans what does matter is that they are there. <<"The Royal Air Force was responsible for taking out most of the air fields in that war. They quite efficiently grounded the Iraqi Air force.">> Wrong again. The airfield interdiction campaign was a joint assignment of the British, French and Italian airforce units that flew the Tornado aircraft. each flew aprox. the same number of interdiction missions and each suffered unacceptable casualties. This caused a change of tactics in the use of the Tornado and its weapon systems. To claim otherwise is not correct. As for <<"quite efficiently grounded the Iraqi Air force.">> Why were so many aircraft of the Iraqi air force shot down if they were so "efficiently grounded"? If they were so "efficiently grounded" how did aprox" 20% of their first line fighter aircraft and attack aircraft get flown to Iran? How do you mean "efficiently"? <<"Then the killing spree started in Bagdad. We all know what that solved. There is some mounting pressure in the UK that America does not conduct a repeat performance. ">> "Killing spree" Roger ? What "killing spree", "in Bagdhad", are you speaking of? Are you talking of innocent civilians being bombed on purpose? Or are you talking of innocent civilians killed when military targets were bombed and the bombs either missed their targets and or who were killed in the explosions which destroyed the military targets? <<"This not America's private war. And America is not going to be the same.">> Since the terrorists did what they did to Americans in American terrortory that makes it a "private" affair......that this country is trying to organize a joint will to fight terrorism in all its forms and in all its locations makes it a worldwide affair. If members of the United Kingdom were so great at fighting terrorism and keeping all peoples rights in sight then there would be no fighting, bombing and killing in Ireland for lo these many years...would there? As for "America never being the same"(sic) being your closest neighbor you should perhaps hope that we come awful danged close to "being the same" with our economies being so closely linked...and if we aren't ever going to be the same..in what ways are we going to be different? <<"The International community is hopefully going to force the US to be accountable for their foreign policy. 90 day company balance sheets will no longer cut it. ">> Would that every country were as accountable for their foreign policy as the U.S. is...as for the rest of the "International Community" "forcing" us to do anything on what moral ground are they going to force us? The "International Communities'" record on combating terrorism? or keeping their people fed? or keeping genocide from going on? or even so simple a matter of not allowing a flourishing slave trade? or as in the UK keeping people of one religion from killing another for no other reason than that one is Catholic and one Anglican??????? OH if we had just captured Montreal when we had the chance!!! :-) Jim Bryant (FL)
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC