Picture of the Day - "Progress" in Iraq / Update

Their presence here maintains a balance. I would rather be scared by their total absence than by their occasional excesses.

Because topic is POTD "Progress" in Irak..


I watched at a small movie - one with a mission of an Apache in Irak. Horrible! With night vision, a crew of an Apache hunted some guys with 30 m.m. gun... You can see this guys trying to escape, but no chances. Its true, if i saw a mision of hunting drog dealers, maybe i have another way of thinking.

Iama

i have the movie as well on a cd. but the latest one is cruel. shooting that guy right in the head, he was injured....i bet they would have killed the second one as well, fortunately for the NBC team...

You talk about another movie? About that one with sooting in mosque? That wounded guy? I dont have it yet. I was shocked about hunting with 30 m.m. Apache helicopter...

Iama

What I find even more amazing is that

1) everybody else just watched the killing and then later the military jumps to the defense of the scumbag.
2) the guy will be punished, not because he murdered an unarmed, wounded man, but because he did it in front of a camera (makes you wonder how many others crime, without camera).
3) If I understand correctly this was supposed to be a Marine unit.

I read about that marines soldier - was wounded with a day before the eveniment, and refused to stay in hospital, she want to go in mission. Maybe, ... no! Certainly for revenge!

Iama

Mission accomplished

Let's be serious. There is no war without warcrimes. The only difference today is that we can actually see some live on TV.

Very true. An additional reason to have excellent motives for starting one, and a good plan to finish it.

Regarding the last posts exchanged by Iamandi, Chandernagore and Victor:

It seems that one result of this incident will be further restrictions against all journalists. A military representative, during a TV exchange of opinions, said that actually the most guilty person in that incident was the reporter, for filming it.

It is possible to have soon some additional restrictions for mass-media. This is a probability, not a certain thing.



This post has been edited by Florin on November 19, 2004 03:15 am

The Mujahedeen of the 1980's, the enemy of the Red Army in Afghanistan, were hailed as "freedom fighters". Are the Iraqis of today also "freedom fighters"? Soviet Union also installed a puppet government, and formed a local puppet army. And they also did it for the best of Afghanistan: to help that country to progress by replacing its politic system with the best political system in the world. (Well, the best system from the point of view of Soviet Union...) In the 80's, the Afghans were not too happy to be enlightened and saved by a superior politic/economic system (again, superior depending whose point of view is).

The only difference is that the Mujahedeen did not kill foreign civilian hostages, as there was no one to be around. Soviet Union did not allow foreign civilians from aid organizations to venture there. It seems sometimes the Mujahedeen beheaded Soviet prisoners, or "just" executed them by shooting.
Of course, the Russians revenged when they could.

Whatever we think us, Europeans or Americans, Christians or not, about Iraq, it seems most Iraqis feel the Coalition troops as invaders. As this is about their own country, I think we have to respect their opinion.

I think president Chirac, who is visiting London now, had a decent approach when he said that the Western values should be imposed by force to other regions of the planet. And I also remember that the bloody regime of Saddam was a secular regime, meaning that Iraqi women did not have to cover their head, and they could graduate universities, and work as doctors and lawyers etc.

All this problem about Iraq is so complicated - all things considered. That's why it is better to don't jump with our heavy boots when we are not clear about results. Like in wild nature: you spray DDT on bugs, but then the little birds eat them and get poisoned and die, not before killing some hawks and eagles who catch them and get poisoned themselves.

This post has been edited by Florin on November 19, 2004 04:10 am

If you don't start to worry here, you never will

I wonder how the US strategy is supposed to work : running from one hot point to the next like a firebrigade, flattening cities (and citizens underneath), with the ocasional warcrime here and there. The collateral damage must be contributing to create more insurgeants than get killed in the operations so you ensure that you will have to fight later the same battles until you get enough of it. One historian said that it could only end "with the last U.S. troops fleeing the country while hanging on to their helicopters' skids"

This post has been edited by Chandernagore on November 19, 2004 11:51 am

Who ask US and CO. to "eliberate " another country? Who give the US right to be mondial gendarme? Who the... is this nation, to change cultures, doctrines, etc. ? Tomorrow, US may try to free Iran just because US feminist movement ask for iranian wimins to go to the street with face uncovered - is not a good motivation to take control of another oil rich country???

Ok, i know about Iranian nuclear s*** , and other propaganda served to mass of "stupid people" - Brucan concept "TM" and registered mark... Years after years, US propaganda mount a capodopera in negative image on unlucky countrys, just to have at a moment, a subject and a motivation for "power projection"..

Anyone can predict wat is to be next target? China? India? Iran? Japan? Russia? We can put the bets for now on...

Iama

The "right" is given by military power. Nothing else is needed to steal other people's sovereignty. Remember, Europeans were pretty good at it during 2000 years, until we finally dropped the shitty unilateral policies.

Now the Americans want to try their luck with the same policies It last until your military edge is negated by environment, limited ressources, political turmoil etc.... But it's a long way from point A to point B.

The Europeans suffered a lot during World War II. They had enough of war, with that one, and this made them smarter.

As U.S. citizen, I am sad to see that the average American is still at the mental level of "Krieg Hail". Also I am sad to say that a harsh defeat in Iraq, however painful will be for the moment, will help the American nation to become more mature. This, in the long run, will be very useful for its mental development.

This post has been edited by Florin on November 19, 2004 06:17 pm