Anyone watch Glen Beck last night?

#1
VolunteerHillbilly

VolunteerHillbilly

Spike Drinks, Not Trees
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#1
He had his "inside the jihad" special last night. I watched about 15 minutes and had to stop because I got so agitated. IMO both parties are selling us down the river Neville Chamberlain style. It drives me nuts to think that here's this mass of people who profess to want to chop off the heads, or otherwise destroy, anyone who disagrees with them and they are building a nuclear aresenal to complement their military forces while we (we meaning the western world) are not doing anything about it. All I hear as an excuse for our inaction is that those are just an extremist fringe element and we should not act against entire nations of people based on what one small group says. However, I find it hard to believe that these are fringe groups when they hold rallies where 10s and 100s of thousands of people show up and they are continually placed in leadership positions.

I realize that the average American citizen does not want to think about this kind of stuff and we'd all like to beleive that people are inherently good but that should not blind us to the fact that they are saying it's us or them. What part of that are westerners not understanding? Is it all just a bunch of cute rhetoric until they start killing us on our own shores? Oh wait, they've already done that. WTF is wrong with us that we do not seem to be taking this seriously?
 
#3
#3
OWB said:
For one, the U.S. is using all of it's resources in Iraq while the people you speak of are walking around without a worry.
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IMO we haven't even begun to use all our resources. Seriously, if ever there was justification for a pre-emptive nuclear strike this is it IMO. Does anyone really think the Iranians will not do it to us as soon as they get the chance?
 
#4
#4
agreed. nearly all of our assets being used in Iraq are land based. Our Navy is still quite potent.

a few nuclear tipped tomahawk cruise missiles would take care of Iranian nuclear ambitions.
 
#5
#5
In my time aboard a ballistic missile sub in the early 90's, it was said that 1 missile carried 8 warheads and could take out an area the size of Texas. Now imagine there 8 to 10 of these subs patrolling at any given time with 24 missiles each... I wonder what areas their target packages might include? :naughty: Like any elite military unit, submariners are among the best trained in the world at their respective jobs. I spent off-crew time in trainers from sun up to sun down and went to numerous tech schools along the way. Submariners must learn ALL the systems aboard a submarine in order to qualify and stay aboard. Failing to do so in 2 runs would result in dismissal. I could and would love to go on, but you get the idea. The US is VERY WELL protected and wise countries realize this.
 
#6
#6
MG1968 said:
agreed. nearly all of our assets being used in Iraq are land based. Our Navy is still quite potent.

a few nuclear tipped tomahawk cruise missiles would take care of Iranian nuclear ambitions.
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With that quality intel we have? Right.
 
#9
#9
I didnt watch it.

But it seems a forgone conclusion to many analysts that Iran wants nuclear weapons to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Armageddon style.

This may be Nuclear War in the immediate future.
 
#10
#10
Is there really any doubt that this will eventually happen? It is simply a matter of time.
 
#13
#13
CSpindizzy said:
Climb under a desk....it's what those in the 50's thought would work.
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I understand your point. There is certainly a fatalist mentality to avoid. But Billy's post is correct. There are people in the world that want you and I dead, just because we don't share their theological views. We can make light, or pretend like they don't exist.

I can assure you that social equality or political dealings will change their point of view. I am convinced we could move Israel to the Arizona desert, and they would not be appeased as long as a Jewish state still existed.

Until the rest of the world, including parts of the middle east, are in one accord against terror, then this struggle will continue. Innocent people will continue to die on both sides, and eventually they will bring a dirty bomb to the states.

I understand your approach to the issue, and I do not totally disagree with the premise. It is a blessing to live life in a carefree fashion, but I don't think we can turn a blind eye to the number of people who want us dead.
 
#14
#14
I'm not being carefree about it. But to think we can go out and wipe out a few nations is about as far out as being carefree. People, we don't live in the days of conventional wars of battlefields of defined nations with defined armies. Anyone who can look like you or I could be an enemy. Our nation cannot and never has been able to handle this. We can overcome standing armies but Superpowers cannot overcome covert and imbedded enemy forces.

We're in a whole new age where DTA is not a wrestling phrase anymore. We can't just send over our military to jack up some banana republic (not the store at the mall) and win. If we fight by these means, we lose.

Take a look at Iraq. You are expecting a nation full of passives who have been ruled by a few authoritarian types to suddenly shake centuries of controlled psyche to create a democracy. It doesn't work. It won't work in a year, 5 years, or even ten years. This culture will not allow for it. The best thing we could have done was either keep Saddam in or have some General below him stay in. I will get the "patriots" and others jumping all over my case but reality often times hurts. Playing footsie with these insurgents and militias gets us nowhere. Put some strongarmed secularists in there and forget the whole remaking of the region with warm and fuzzy democracies. All you get is a democracy with thousands fighting to overthrow it.

I will step down and take the pummeling I am sure to get.
 
#15
#15
actually, cspin, I sort of agree with you there. our military is geared toward massive, set-piece operations. and while our boys are well trained, urban warfare needs a great deal of ruthlessness to be effective, and there's too much political correctness now to permit the tactics that should be employed against a guerrilla army.
 
#16
#16
CSpindizzy said:
I'm not being carefree about it. But to think we can go out and wipe out a few nations is about as far out as being carefree. People, we don't live in the days of conventional wars of battlefields of defined nations with defined armies. Anyone who can look like you or I could be an enemy. Our nation cannot and never has been able to handle this. We can overcome standing armies but Superpowers cannot overcome covert and imbedded enemy forces.

We're in a whole new age where DTA is not a wrestling phrase anymore. We can't just send over our military to jack up some banana republic (not the store at the mall) and win. If we fight by these means, we lose.

Take a look at Iraq. You are expecting a nation full of passives who have been ruled by a few authoritarian types to suddenly shake centuries of controlled psyche to create a democracy. It doesn't work. It won't work in a year, 5 years, or even ten years. This culture will not allow for it. The best thing we could have done was either keep Saddam in or have some General below him stay in. I will get the "patriots" and others jumping all over my case but reality often times hurts. Playing footsie with these insurgents and militias gets us nowhere. Put some strongarmed secularists in there and forget the whole remaking of the region with warm and fuzzy democracies. All you get is a democracy with thousands fighting to overthrow it.

I will step down and take the pummeling I am sure to get.
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Not sure that many people disagree with you.
 
#17
#17
There is nothing to disagree with. The mindset of our leaders in the onset of this war spoke volumes. The idea that shock and awe would strike fear into the minds of the Iraqi's was what much of this has been about...only it didn't work.

There is truth in the saying "Go big or go home". At this point, we either fight a smart war that shows we have done some actual research about our enemy and have a plan, or we stay put until we do have a such a plan. If, on the other hand, our enemies break trump by nuking Israel or a US city, then my friends, "it is on like a pot of neckbones."
 
#18
#18
Well at this point, we've already created the democracy and handed over many powers and decisions to them. Now we are at the point where we can do little that is truly effective without endangering or destroying the monster we've created. Anything we do to aggressively root out the problem will no doubt spell the end for this democratic government either in the immediate or long term future.
 
#19
#19
How about this one spin, we make everyone in the US wipe their bum with the Koran. Anyone who refuses is shot in the head. Pros? Cons?
 
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