[i]WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attacks in Iraq last month reached their highest daily average since May 2003, showing a surge in violence as President George W. Bush completed a buildup of U.S. troops, Pentagon statistics show.
The data, obtained by Reuters from the Defense Department, showed an upward trend in daily attacks over the past four months, when U.S. and Iraqi forces were ramping up operations against insurgents and militants, including al Qaeda, in Iraq.
[…]
The June numbers showed 5,335 attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces, civilians and infrastructure.[/i]
Bush cannot invoke reason to keep the troops on the ground. The Iraq war was evidently a blunder and the surge made things even worse. I was a strong believer in the excellence of your checks and balances system, but after the inaction of congress, I’m starting to have doubts about the efficacy of the system.
There’s no doubt in my mind that a referendum in either countries (Iraq or the US) will put an end to the madness. But, the Iraqi parliament went on vacation (true story!) and the Democrats seem to be lacking the balls to corner Bush. I personally doubt US troops will ever get out of Iraq given all the bases they’ve built. Any of you has a different analysis? Do you see a massive withdrawal before next elections?
[quote]vroom wrote:
The terrorists might give up if they feel that the injustices they perceive or perceived may eventually stop happening?[/quote]
What injustices? Voting? Having a modern secular state? Don’t you hate religious fanatics having positions in government, and support seperation of church and state?
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Yes, when will the terrorists finally give up and accept a democracy and let people vote for their own destinies? We can only hope its soon…[/quote]
How convenient! You lump the nationalists, supporters of Al-Sadr, the Ba’athists and everyone else under the “terrorist” label.
Oh, and last I checked, the US itself didn’t accept the outcome when the Palestinians voted for their own destinies.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
What injustices?
[/quote]
Now, isn’t that the million dollar question?
Maybe if you ever figure out what the perceived injustices are you’ll have something relevant to say about the issue.
I won’t be holding my breath.
Personally, if I felt incredible injustices had been committed against me, my country, my culture, my ancestors and my fellow citizens, for decades, I’d be pissed off. I wouldn’t particularly care how justified people felt in the actions they had taken either.
Wait, before you react, this applies equally well to those on both sides of the fence! Israeli citizens and Jewish people also have a history to get pissed off about. With 9/11 and subsequent attacks, so does the rest of the west. It goes without saying that the Middle East has also been stirred up several times too many.
No, for the brainless, that does not condone or suggest terrorism is appropriate, but it does provide some less rational people with a impetus to take action.
As I said before, we’re all human. Somewhere, under all the hatred, are human emotions and decision making processes. Of course, fundamental religion thrown into the mix does not help either.
[quote]lixy wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
Yes, when will the terrorists finally give up and accept a democracy and let people vote for their own destinies? We can only hope its soon…
How convenient! You lump the nationalists, supporters of Al-Sadr, the Ba’athists and everyone else under the “terrorist” label.
Oh, and last I checked, the US itself didn’t accept the outcome when the Palestinians voted for their own destinies.[/quote]
Sure we “accepted” the outcome. We just didn’t like it and stopped subsidizing the bastards.
That is pretty sweet that more muslims are dying. Keep up the good work. More attacks=more dead muslims. We should have followed that strategy from the beginning.
[quote]Valentinius wrote:
That is pretty sweet that more muslims are dying. Keep up the good work. More attacks=more dead muslims. We should have followed that strategy from the beginning.[/quote]
Have you seen their reproductive rate? They’re dying nowhere fast enough to stem the tide. The Iraqi median age is around 15 years old. They’ve got something like 33 births to 6 deaths per 1000. You could triple the monthly casualty and still not make a dent. The situation in similar in other muslim countries that aren’t being helped along with maintaining a good death rate.
Amusingly, pressure from fundamentalist groups in the US have succeeded in getting many foreign aid birth control programs canceled in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. Good times ahead.