That’s only because we lack military power. I suppose all we can be proud of is performing genocide as late as during the 1960s, or being the only first-world country to ever violate the CERD human rights treaty.
But other than that we are perfect purely by virtue of being Australian… Right?[/quote]
All nations, including mine, have episodes in their history that none of its citizens should be proud of. The big picture has to be viewed for valid conclusions to be reached. There is no “pure” nation. Never has been never will be while we flawed humans are at the helm.
OP, if you want to praise heroic soldiers, this is definitely not the way to go.
If you dig deep enough, you can find positives in even the most disgusting and horrific actions. But the fact remains that it was the US of A that encouraged, financed and supported the rise of militant Islamism in Afghanistan. And for heaven’s sake, stop acting as if you went to Afghanistan to restore rights of women. They might not tell you this in school, but the Kuwaiti women you “saved” from the hordes of baby-eating Iraqis acquired the right to vote a couple of years ago. The Al-Sauds (who’d be toast without your relentless support) are a tyrannical regime who treats women like shit, and whose ideology is the driving force behind terrorism worldwide.
Your “American Soldiers” went to Afghanistan because of 9/11, NOT to give women the right to lift weights or whatever they do in that new gym of theirs.
Your “American Soldiers” went to Afghanistan because of 9/11, NOT to give women the right to lift weights or whatever they do in that new gym of theirs.[/quote]
I totally agree, any respectful nation would of did the same. Plus nobody said otherwise, some accomplishments outside of our original objectives were made and they were noted, big deal.
First off you guys were getting your asses wooped, Britain was the only country hanging on until the U.S. entered and saved your asses, you can’t make an argument against this. We also won the korean war in the 1950’s, gulf war, in the early 1990’s. We won every battle in Vietnam, but did not win the war as containing commmunism did not happend.
Well unfortunately, Australia does not have a large military, and in there best interest starting a war would not end well.
Much appreciated, the little help you do give us shows a lot, how many soldiers did you guys supply?
[quote]That should count for something.
And are you saying that your current government is not stupid? Seriously?
Wow. [/quote]
yes I am. Do I agree with all their actions, no, do I support them hell yea. The United States is the most powerful country militarily and econnomically in the world. You know how it got that way? Because of our military and government.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
I totally agree, any respectful nation would of did the same. [/quote]
I don’t see what it’s got to do with respect, but I agree with the spirit.
They weren’t merely noted. Blacksnake was trying to give credit to the “American Soldier” for creating a “reality of Freedom in this country”. This is pretty much the line Bush’s been spouting when his WMD/Al-Qaeda cover was blown. They kept hammering people about “spreading freedom” and “fight for democracy”. It’s catchy and certainly a laudable goal, but it’s risible to anyone familiar with the history of US’ foreign policy, its support for dictators and how the CIA undermined democracy in many places. Get it?
[quote]lixy wrote:
austin_bicep wrote:
I totally agree, any respectful nation would of did the same.
I don’t see what it’s got to do with respect, but I agree with the spirit.
Plus nobody said otherwise, some accomplishments outside of our original objectives were made and they were noted, big deal.
They weren’t merely noted. Blacksnake was trying to give credit to the “American Soldier” for creating a “reality of Freedom in this country”. This is pretty much the line Bush’s been spouting when his WMD/Al-Qaeda cover was blown. They kept hammering people about “spreading freedom” and “fight for democracy”. It’s catchy and certainly a laudable goal, but it’s risible to anyone familiar with the history of US’ foreign policy, its support for dictators and how the CIA undermined democracy in many places. Get it?[/quote]
And if Sweden ever gets all growed up it can do the same thing.
Whatever else may ever transpire here austin_bicep has my respect. You are a clear thinking guy for such tender years and are in the minority in your generation.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Whatever else may ever transpire here austin_bicep has my respect. You are a clear thinking guy for such tender years and are in the minority in your generation. [/quote]
Thx bro, I knew those couple of years of A.P. European studies and American History wouldn’t go to waste lol. I don’t see where these guys are coming from and they have know idea what they’re talking about and, (they won’t admit this), but they’re digging their own graves. I’m glad we concur.
It’s a great thing that freedom and democracy are spreading in Afghanistan (if this is indeed the case).
My criticism of the situation is that the United States should never have left Afghanistan in the first place. After the successful repulsion of USSR forces from Afghanistan, America turned her back and left.
Thanks for defeating the USSR for us!
Rebuild? Go fuck yourselves!
The recruitment base of the Taliban and Al Qaeda rose out of the ashes of that war (thousands of war-orphaned boys raised in radical religious orphanages) and a simple matter of foreign aid to rebuild their country (as a thank-you for helping to bankrupt the USSR) may have prevented this whole cluster-fuck from happening in the first place.
Of course hindsight is 20/20.
That all being said, good on 'em for opening a women’s gym in Afghanistan.
[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
It’s a great thing that freedom and democracy are spreading in Afghanistan (if this is indeed the case).
My criticism of the situation is that the United States should never have left Afghanistan in the first place. After the successful repulsion of USSR forces from Afghanistan, America turned her back and left.
…[/quote]
I agree. The US (and the rest of the western world) should have done a better job there.
I would trust graffiti found scrawled in a public restroom somewhere before the BBC for information concerning anything having to do with US foreign policy.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
I would trust graffiti found scrawled in a public restroom somewhere before the BBC for information concerning anything having to do with US foreign policy.[/quote]
So you rant about Aussies, Swedes, and now even Brits.
Out of curiosity, is there a third-party you would consider even listening to, or is the whole world just jealous of your freedoms?
Also, what exactly is your beef with the BBC? It’s the largest and most respected news source in the world. Oh, I get it, you don’t like their motto, right? “Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation”
In that spirit, I wish you all a happy new year 2008. Cheers!
[quote]Blacksnake wrote: [u]Womens Bodybuilding Club Opens in Afganistan[/u]
MWA Sisters, Please take note!!!
KABUL(RIA Novosti) – A bodybuilding club for women has been inaugurated in Afghanistan, news agency Bakhtar said on Saturday.
The Afghan agency said at least 20 women in Ngar in the Parwan province will be able to exercise from now on at the club built by the Women’s Association of Ngar.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by some provincial authorities, representatives of human rights organizations and local people.
Women in the Asian country have been denied most legal rights. Under the Taliban rule they were even barred from going to school. Domestic violence and forced marriages remain common throughout the country.
Ladies…Re-Appreciate what you have, American Soldiers have been killed and maimed to create this small reality of Freedom in this country, those lives are not to be wasted! Guns and bullets were the basis of our Freedom in the USA in our Revolutionary War against the Crown…Others are not as fortunate…Power to the Afgan Power Chicks!!! Lift it Grrls’!…Nobody rides for Free!!
[/quote]
Wow, this OP is quite…ridiculous.
Afghanistan getting more women-oppressive by the day. The idea that valiant american soldiers are dying to erect some small outposts of freedom and culture is outlandish.
Urban A. is not a primitive, desert shithole that is now slowly experiencing western achievements of the 20th century for the first time:
Before the war, the land had a promising movie industry. After the war, the new religious right banned over fifty video game stores in the capital alone.
As the coalition of the willing just wants to withdraw with some intact dignity, virtually nothing has been achieved post 2001. Some small, local projects look good in the news, but the religious zealots and conservative & greedy warlords (still) dominate unchallenged, while opium production skyrocketed.
And Afghanistan is LIGHTYEARS ahead of the shitfest-disaster Iraq.
[quote]"Practically every woman I encountered in Afghanistan was either a victim of rape herself or personally knew someone affected by sexual violence during the civil war period. These old scars have left a mark of violence and fear on Afghan women. The Taliban actually enjoyed a short-lived popularity in 1996, when they expelled the warlords from the countryside.
Ironically, even though the Taliban were infamous for their tyrannical policies on female education, employment and mobility, my discussions with women in the northern, central and southern regions of Afghanistan revealed that the Taliban regime, through its strict interpretations of Islamic law, virtually eliminated the ethnic rape campaigns and widespread sexual violence.
“During the Taliban we could not come to the [health] clinic without our husbands and we could not move around freely, but there was no threat of rape for women,” said Ayesha, 40, a Pashtun villager from rural Kandahar province.
“The Taliban made it so that no one could come into our homes. A woman could even sleep with her door open at night and nothing would happen to her.”
Even in the ethnically fragmented northern province of Balkh, women noticed a reduction in sexual violence under the Taliban regime. Twenty-year-old widow Akala, from Khoja Ghalak village, struggled to feed herself and her two children during the Taliban regime, but says she was under no threat of sexual violence.
"Under the Taliban, I was not able to work in the field or go to the bazaar, or even visit the cemetery to pray. I am a widow, so my life was extremely difficult. But they [the Taliban] never went into houses or violated women. They were very good people in that regard.
Even in the less conservative city of Mazar-e-Sharif where the Taliban no longer retain any influence, many women still wear the traditional burqa.
“The only restriction was that you couldn’t go outside, or even think about going outside. They killed a lot of people, but they did not rape women. And the men were all afraid to rape because the Taliban would kill them.”[/quote]
It’s a trade-off more than anything. Better every-day freedoms, but a return of the daily pre-Taliban threat of sexual violence. Given only the two choices I’d much rather a female loved-one be burqa’d and under house-arrest than gang-raped by the local war-band. Especially in a culture where she might be stoned to death under fatwa from the local Imam for her sinful act of “fornication”.
Our Northern Alliance allies are little more than lowlife scum, conveniently situated as the enemies of the Taliban when we retaliated in 2001. The Taliban were damn-near beaten and now their numbers are growing – likely because Afghans are pissed (rightfully so) that we’ve endangered their wives and daughters, and overwhelmingly empowered those individuals who have abused and violated them in the past.
Now if our European NATO allies would get off their asses and commit significant forces to the Afghan effort, maybe we could actually hold the country together without the “help” of the local gangstery.
Heaven for bid any good news comes out of Iraq or Afghanistan. Yeah we didnt go there to liberate women, so the fuck what? Only bitter assholes can find something to bitch about regarding this article. If its such a bad thing then call Code Pink and get a fucking plane ticket.