Columbia University invites Hitler to speak

[MrSpall]

We have invaded a country because of a President who is both oil-driven and paranoid, we go around the world telling people that their religion is wrong and ours is right - their form of government is wrong and ours is right...............seriously, I'm beginning to question who the bad guy truly is?

If Iran went into a country & did exactly what we did to Iraq, would that be acceptable? How do you think you would view the United States if you were the leader of another country?...........I think we've handled things in a rather blindly/ arrogant fashion. GW gets a "pass" for what he's done & this guys the worst thing ever? I'd love to compare resumes.

Once again, I'm beginning to question who the bad guy truly is?

Obviously I'm late to the party, but Conley - you're absolutely correct. Ahmenanejad is certainly worse than Dubya, but I refuse to believe that this makes everything we do valid. I don't think we're the bad guys, but I do see us existing in a lot of gray area.

Jones - you want the world to live in fear of us? Honestly? I really hope that this is internet forum bravado and not an honest opinion. Fear only lasts so long. For a time, in the 1700s, everyone was afraid of England. Then one group of people stood up to them, the world backed the upstarts, and England lost. The world used to be afraid of the Romans, we all know how that turned out. The world feared the Huns, a group of barbarians famous for their bloodlust. Yeah, lets go ahead and be the country everyone in the world fears.

At the end of the day, pre-emptive wars don't work. The world sees only a country trying to police the world and impose itself on others. And don't try to tell me the war wasn't pre-emptive (I've heard the argument that the Iraq war is a response to 9/11). You can't really believe that when 15 Saudis (and 4 of their friends) working out of Germany, Pakistan, and Afghanistan attack the WTC that it is somehow Iraq's fault.

Sorry, a little off topic.

I don't know why he's here, I don't know why Columbia University invited him. I wish they hadn't. The whole situation sucks. Kinda hoping they do take him to ground zero and he inhales some kinda crazy fume that gives him 12 kinds of cancer. That'd be sweet irony.

[bwohlgemuth]

So you claim.

Prove me wrong. Please. I would love to be wrong about this war and get our troops home ASAP. But I am not wrong, and I think you know it too.

A person, let alone a country cannot exist in perfection, it constantly has to struggle with the choices it makes and try to learn from those lessons. Decisions are made based on the best available facts at the time. And while American's have shed innocent Iraqi blood, this has almost always been accidental in nature, mostly due to Al Qaeda's tactics of positioning themselves within residential neighborhoods. There are reasons why American's don't move into condos in downtown Baghdad, because that would put themselves and innocents in the path of danger.

Jones - you want the world to live in fear of us?

The only people I want to "fear' us are the ones who want to cause us malicious harm. There's a difference between "competition" and "destruction". We want to build a competitive, vibrant Iraq. Al Qaeda and its buddies want the opposite.

Do me a favor, please look at what AlQaeda's goals are. Then look up these words...

Caphilate
Dhimmi

I hope you see Al Qaeda for what it is, and why we are in Iraq fighting them.

[sevesd93]

That Al Qaeda guy is a d*ck...

[conley]

I can understand the concept of "leading by fear" & that's exactly why we shouldn't have handled Iraq the way we did. In fact, I'm sure that many countries fear us less now.......Sometimes perception works better than reality - we were perceived as the all-mighty USA; now, that perception has been tainted because we are running around the Middle East, chasing our tails............ We should have went in quickly, struck aggressively and then got the hell out.....just like George Sr./ Daddy did back in the day.

[sevesd93]

I can understand the concept of "leading by fear" & that's exactly why we shouldn't have handled Iraq the way we did. In fact, I'm sure that many countries fear us less now.......Sometimes perception works better than reality - we were perceived as the all-mighty USA; now, that perception has been tainted because we are running around the Middle East, chasing our tails............ We should have went in quickly, struck aggressively and then got the hell out.....just like George Sr./ Daddy did back in the day.

Yeah that almost could have happened seeing as everyone wants to micromanage this thing from over here.

[Garr]

Though most U.S. citizens believe in the propaganda machine that we are a caring nation with the best interests of the world at heart, the USoA is viewed as the planetary bully and even our allies can't stand us. 60 years ago we faced a real threat in a real way and for good reasons. Today, we're playing in the sandbox and being lied to about the reasons.

What that has to do with Naga-naja-nahye-not-gonna-work-here-anymore, I don't know. The guy SAYS that he's enriching uranium for energy reasons. Do we have any proof to the contrary? Is the UN and the US wrongfully persecuting this president and his nation? I'd like to see some empirical study or investigation by a non-biased third party.

[bwohlgemuth]

We should have went in quickly, struck aggressively and then got the hell out.....just like George Sr./ Daddy did back in the day.

Ask the Shia of Iraq how that worked out.... Do you know why the original "no fly zones" were created in the first place after the first Gulf War? To stop Saddam from bombing the hell out of the Shia and Kurds which tried to forment a revolution, and we sat idly by, watching the slaughter until it was too late. Hence why the Shia of Iraq don't have a high opinion of us. If you read that article I linked to, it also reflects those points as well.

I don't like us being the world's police officer, but honestly, that's where we are. We have the largest economy, the highest efficiencies, and the best quality of life for a large country. We got here by free enterprise, something which is not being enabled fast enough in the Middle East.

I did a paper last year on the quality of life in Jordan before and after it started free trade with Israel. The numbers are, well, amazing and not surprising. If the rest of the Arab world would follow Jordan's lead, the quality of life would improve dramatically (and Lebanon was also a good example before Hezboallah saw their little stronghold start disintegrating and decided to start civil war part II).

Again, please feel free to disprove my assertions in this post. I will gladly review what you post and respond critically.

[Garr]

I don't like us being the world's police officer, but honestly, that's where we are. We have the largest economy, the highest efficiencies, and the best quality of life for a large country. We got here by free enterprise, something which is not being enabled fast enough in the Middle East.

I question this. The value of the U.S. dollar is slowly but steadily declining especially in comparison to the value of other countries' currency. We are a nation of debt. Not just governmentally, but individually as well. I read in The New York Times last week that the Canadian dollar (Loonies) are now in parity with the U.S. dollar. Euros are far more valuable. Japanese currency has destroyed us for years. Those economies would likely not exist right now if it weren't for our actions in WWI and WWII, but you can't deny that their economies are stronger than ours, their inflation is lower, and the currency holds value longer.

The US had a great idea, but our economy is declining despite the illusion that it is strong.

[Haggard]

So you claim.

Prove me wrong. Please. I would love to be wrong about this war and get our troops home ASAP. But I am not wrong, and I think you know it too.

A person, let alone a country cannot exist in perfection, it constantly has to struggle with the choices it makes and try to learn from those lessons. Decisions are made based on the best available facts at the time. And while American's have shed innocent Iraqi blood, this has almost always been accidental in nature, mostly due to Al Qaeda's tactics of positioning themselves within residential neighborhoods. There are reasons why American's don't move into condos in downtown Baghdad, because that would put themselves and innocents in the path of danger.

Jones - you want the world to live in fear of us?

The only people I want to "fear' us are the ones who want to cause us malicious harm. There's a difference between "competition" and "destruction". We want to build a competitive, vibrant Iraq. Al Qaeda and its buddies want the opposite.

Do me a favor, please look at what AlQaeda's goals are. Then look up these words...

Caphilate
Dhimmi

I hope you see Al Qaeda for what it is, and why we are in Iraq fighting them.

The problem here is exactly how do you look at Saddam's acts any differently than what happens in other countries, which oddly enough, don't have oil. The only time we get involved is when there is something in it for us. Not to sound like a tree hugging hippy, but if we were truly worried about the health and well being of the people of the world, there are a lot of peaceful things we could do to remedy their problems.

Also if it is Al Qaeda we are scared of, why not put as much money and time and loss of life into tracking down the people involved in Al Qaeda, not some insurgents that FoxNews labels "Al Qaeda."

Last but not least, even if we institute our style of democracy in Iraq, who says that is the right way? Because we approve and can get cheaper resources it is definitely better.

[WBOB]

I don't like us being the world's police officer, but honestly, that's where we are. We have the largest economy, the highest efficiencies, and the best quality of life for a large country. We got here by free enterprise, something which is not being enabled fast enough in the Middle East.

I question this. The value of the U.S. dollar is slowly but steadily declining especially in comparison to the value of other countries' currency. We are a nation of debt. Not just governmentally, but individually as well. I read in The New York Times last week that the Canadian dollar (Loonies) are now in parity with the U.S. dollar. Euros are far more valuable. Japanese currency has destroyed us for years. Those economies would likely not exist right now if it weren't for our actions in WWI and WWII, but you can't deny that their economies are stronger than ours, their inflation is lower, and the currency holds value longer.

The US had a great idea, but our economy is declining despite the illusion that it is strong.

Points taken.

An unfortunate side note is the internal push in DC to create
a North American Union, which the value of the dollar helps
them push this into relinquishing of our national sovereignty.

Saudi Arabia already considering unhooking their economy
from the US dollar.

Fear-mongering = unintended.

[bassjones]

So you claim.

Prove me wrong. Please. I would love to be wrong about this war and get our troops home ASAP. But I am not wrong, and I think you know it too.

A person, let alone a country cannot exist in perfection, it constantly has to struggle with the choices it makes and try to learn from those lessons. Decisions are made based on the best available facts at the time. And while American's have shed innocent Iraqi blood, this has almost always been accidental in nature, mostly due to Al Qaeda's tactics of positioning themselves within residential neighborhoods. There are reasons why American's don't move into condos in downtown Baghdad, because that would put themselves and innocents in the path of danger.

Jones - you want the world to live in fear of us?

The only people I want to "fear' us are the ones who want to cause us malicious harm. There's a difference between "competition" and "destruction". We want to build a competitive, vibrant Iraq. Al Qaeda and its buddies want the opposite.

Do me a favor, please look at what AlQaeda's goals are. Then look up these words...

Caphilate
Dhimmi

I hope you see Al Qaeda for what it is, and why we are in Iraq fighting them.

The problem here is exactly how do you look at Saddam's acts any differently than what happens in other countries, which oddly enough, don't have oil. The only time we get involved is when there is something in it for us. Not to sound like a tree hugging hippy, but if we were truly worried about the health and well being of the people of the world, there are a lot of peaceful things we could do to remedy their problems.
Also if it is Al Qaeda we are scared of, why not put as much money and time and loss of life into tracking down the people involved in Al Qaeda, not some insurgents that FoxNews labels "Al Qaeda."

Last but not least, even if we institute our style of democracy in Iraq, who says that is the right way? Because we approve and can get cheaper resources it is definitely better.

I still contend the reason France, Germany and Russia were so opposed to the invasion is their own ILLEGAL oil ties to Iraq and the kickback program. Hussein attempted to assassinate H.W. in 1992. That is an act of war. Hussein violated every agreement he made to end Dessert Storm. He was one of the most brutal, evil men to ever live and his regime was one of the most brutal, evil regimes ever.

I do not mean that the rest of the world should live in fear of us, but those who intend to do us harm damn well should fear the consequences. Conley, you're right. Vietnam, Mogadishu, and now Iraq are letting it be known that we have no fortitude anymore. As soon as things get tough, the spoiled brats back home start whining and we stop before we accomplish our goals. We fear bad publicity, so we don't fight to win, we fight with great restraint. In Vietnam, the Cong used 8 year old kids and strapped bombs to them because they knew we wouldn't shoot them, then when we wised up and regrettedly did start shooting them, our mutinous press starts calling our brave men, "Baby Killers", and turns the nation on them, so our politicians handcuff our men with ridiculous rules of engagement and we start losing more and more soldiers, eventually turning the populace against the war. In Iraq, we have had rules of engagement prohibiting firing on Mosques (even though they were shooting FROM Mosques), firing on or even searching women (we lost several men to women hiding machine guns under burkhas and mowing them down when their backs were turned), firing on children (learn from the past?).

How to win a war 101 - see Japan WW2. That's right, you have to CRUSH/DESTROY the enemy. Then you show your good side and help them rebuild, eventually turning them into one of your staunchest allies - in less than 50 years.

How to lose a war 101 - see Vietnam. Let politicians put rules of engagement on men in the field, micro-manage the war from Washington, and put soldiers on trial for doing their jobs.

[sevesd93]

Very Nice Brad.

[bassjones]

Very Nice Brad.

thank you.

[bwohlgemuth]

What that has to do with Naga-naja-nahye-not-gonna-work-here-anymore, I don't know.

I'm glad I was not the only one mentally quoting Office Space everytime I hear that guy's name.

Though most U.S. citizens believe in the propaganda machine that we are a caring nation with the best interests of the world at heart, the USoA is viewed as the planetary bully and even our allies can't stand us

And why is that? Euro-centric thinking in Europe? The Chinese trying to turn the focus away from their internal problems? Europe, China, and the world that "hates" us hated us before 9/11. And the fact is, most people do not hate America. It's the reason why we attract so many immigrants and students each year. They may not like our policies, but they sure as heck like the rest of the place.

60 years ago we faced a real threat in a real way and for good reasons.

And back then there were protesters, isolationists, and racism. My family's last name used to be VonWohlgemuth. We changed it during WWI. Why? Racism. Has it "dramatically" affected my upbringing? No.

The guy SAYS that he's enriching uranium for energy reasons. Do we have any proof to the contrary?

Sure we do. Typical nuclear reactors need U-235 enrichment to about 3%-4%. The stuff the inspectors found was highly enriched. To get to that level (from 3% to 50%+) is a monumental undertaking, and is ill suited for uses in a Nuclear Reactor.

(Side note: Most kids dreamed of being firemen. I dreamed of being a nuclear physicist. So while I'm not a degreed expert, I have a good idea of what I'm talking about).

Is the UN and the US wrongfully persecuting this president and his nation? I'd like to see some empirical study or investigation by a non-biased third party.

Is this enough proof for you? A 50% U-235 enriched reactor would only be suitable in a small reactor (like ones for submarines). A large reactor would start an uncontrollable reaction, resulting possibly in a meltdown. This is why reactors only use 3%-4% enrichment.

[bwohlgemuth]

Here's something to think about.

We are a net importer of world goods. Which means we are a net exporter of currency. This is a good thing since this means we can afford to outsource non-critical needs/wants to other countries who can offer them at a lower price. For details on this, I HIGHLY recommend reading Free Trade Under Fire.

Now, if the dollar loses parity to the rest of the world, this is a bad thing for the rest of the world. Why? Contracts immediately lose value. A contract for $60 million in the US went from being work 50 million euro to 40 million Euro. Imagine trying to explain THAT to shareholders. And now items which were "lower in price" now reach parity with US domestic brands. Bad news for foreign firms in the world's largest market.

I would not be surprised if the recent dumping of the dollar is somewhat coordinated. The underlying factors which dictate value are NOT in decline, and investors could give a rats ass who is in control, as long as they can carry out their profitable businesses.