Spain is pulling out

[FlightSergeantRose]

I am sorry I offended you Bossi, next time I will use poopy pants instead of fools, ok?

If you have a problem with some of my sentences (although I am sure you get the point), you will have to ‘suck it up‘. I try to get my points across as quickly as I can and I am not spending hours editing my posts. I guess I am lazy.

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

Bottom line is I think the war with Iraq was wrong. Yes, Saddam was bad; so are many other world leaders, who have been involved in worse things and you dont even hear a peep from Bush about them.

I don‘t know the real reasons Bush invaded Iraq and I don‘t think we will know for a long time, but it sure as **** wasn‘t about taking out WMD‘s or fighting terrorism.

I say "fool" because the Spanish people are overwhelmingly against the **** going on in Iraq. When they voted for the Socialists, they used the ‘democratic‘ way to tell the government that they wanted out.

The Socialists won about 47% of the vote and about 77% of all the people in the country voted. 77% is an extremely good turnout, which makes me think that the people of Spain had something to say to their government.

The winning party campaigned on bringing back their troops if they won the election, and now they are keeping their promise.

Spain is not a coward at all, as some tend to think, of course everyone has their own personal opinions. The people of Spain were against the Iraq invasion and now that the people have had their chance to ‘speak out‘, they are doing what they believe is right; Not participating in the occupation of Iraq.

I was upset that some people would call them cowards. Those over here who think so are (in my opinion), are in no position to say such a thing.

 

[Infanteer]

Well Infanteer, I know this from reading a lot and watching the news often. I am also a history major in university and I am very interested in international history and politics. From all of my inputs of information I formulate my own opinions.

Yeah, well I guess I‘ll have to quit the military and do that too....

To myself, I believe I am right when I say that the US invaded Iraq to get rid of Saddam, but more importantly, to secure a long term supply of oil as the US‘s relationship with Saudi Arabia (they get most of their oil from them)has been deteriorating for some time.

Keep telling yourself that.

So we are fighting a ‘specific‘ form of terrorism are we? Well, how about you tell us all about this ‘specific‘ type of terrorism we are dealing with. I would also like you to tell me who/how terrorism has a country and a face, because I think that you are wrong.

Well, if you were such a buff of international history and politics like you claim to be, maybe you would know? This ain‘t the Red Brigade we are fighting here. But I‘ll give you a hint; how many fanatic, Jesuit priests from Des Moines, Iowa do you think are in the Al Qaeda?

With Iraq on the other hand, there is very, very little evidence that Saddam had anything to do with ‘terrorists‘. From what I have heard, Saddam hated terrorists like Osama, and Osama had called Saddam an "infedel", so I somehow doubt they had anything to do with one another.

There has been no connection made between Saddam and the 9-11 hijackers. There was never any connection, and I bet Saddam was just as surprised about 9-11 as everyone else was.

Well, if thats what you heard, than it must be true. I‘ve stated what my sources are for what I said, so you can take ‘em or leave ‘em.

But, since you are such a scholar and won‘t accept the word of a soldier, I‘ll throw out some academic reading that the internet is full of....
----
Those who try to whitewash Saddam‘s record don‘t dispute this evidence; they just ignore it. So let‘s review the evidence, all of it on the public record for months or years:

* Abdul Rahman Yasin was the only member of the al Qaeda cell that detonated the 1993 World Trade Center bomb to remain at large in the Clinton years. He fled to Iraq. U.S. forces recently discovered a cache of documents in Tikrit, Saddam‘s hometown, that show that Iraq gave Mr. Yasin both a house and monthly salary.

* Bin Laden met at least eight times with officers of Iraq‘s Special Security Organization, a secret police agency run by Saddam‘s son Qusay, and met with officials from Saddam‘s mukhabarat, its external intelligence service, according to intelligence made public by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was speaking before the United Nations Security Council on February 6, 2003.

* Sudanese intelligence officials told me that their agents had observed meetings between Iraqi intelligence agents and bin Laden starting in 1994, when bin Laden lived in Khartoum.

* Bin Laden met the director of the Iraqi mukhabarat in 1996 in Khartoum, according to Mr. Powell.

* An al Qaeda operative now held by the U.S. confessed that in the mid-1990s, bin Laden had forged an agreement with Saddam‘s men to cease all terrorist activities against the Iraqi dictator, Mr. Powell told the United Nations.

* In 1999 the Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that Farouk Hijazi, a senior officer in Iraq‘s mukhabarat, had journeyed deep into the icy mountains near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in December 1998 to meet with al Qaeda men. Mr. Hijazi is "thought to have offered bin Laden asylum in Iraq," the Guardian reported.

* In October 2000, another Iraqi intelligence operative, Salah Suleiman, was arrested near the Afghan border by Pakistani authorities, according to Jane‘s Foreign Report, a respected international newsletter. Jane‘s reported that Suleiman was shuttling between Iraqi intelligence and Ayman al Zawahiri, now al Qaeda‘s No. 2 man.

(Why are all of those meetings significant? The London Observer reports that FBI investigators cite a captured al Qaeda field manual in Afghanistan, which "emphasizes the value of conducting discussions about pending terrorist attacks face to face, rather than by electronic means.")

* As recently as 2001, Iraq‘s embassy in Pakistan was used as a "liaison" between the Iraqi dictator and al Qaeda, Mr. Powell told the United Nations.

* Spanish investigators have uncovered documents seized from Yusuf Galan -- who is charged by a Spanish court with being "directly involved with the preparation and planning" of the Sept. 11 attacks -- that show the terrorist was invited to a party at the Iraqi embassy in Madrid. The invitation used his "al Qaeda nom de guerre," London‘s Independent reports.

* An Iraqi defector to Turkey, known by his cover name as "Abu Mohammed," told Gwynne Roberts of the Sunday Times of London that he saw bin Laden‘s fighters in camps in Iraq in 1997. At the time, Mohammed was a colonel in Saddam‘s Fedayeen. He described an encounter at Salman Pak, the training facility southeast of Baghdad. At that vast compound run by Iraqi intelligence, Muslim militants trained to hijack planes with knives -- on a full-size Boeing 707. Col. Mohammed recalls his first visit to Salman Pak this way: "We were met by Colonel Jamil Kamil, the camp manager, and Major Ali Hawas. I noticed that a lot of people were queuing for food. (The major) said to me: ‘You‘ll have nothing to do with these people. They are Osama bin Laden‘s group and the PKK and Mojahedin-e Khalq.‘"

* In 1998, Abbas al-Janabi, a longtime aide to Saddam‘s son Uday, defected to the West. At the time, he repeatedly told reporters that there was a direct connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.

*The Sunday Times found a Saddam loyalist in a Kurdish prison who claims to have been Dr. Zawahiri‘s bodyguard during his 1992 visit with Saddam in Baghdad. Dr. Zawahiri was a close associate of bin Laden at the time and was present at the founding of al Qaeda in 1989.

* Following the defeat of the Taliban, almost two dozen bin Laden associates "converged on Baghdad and established a base of operations there," Mr. Powell told the United Nations in February 2003. From their Baghdad base, the secretary said, they supervised the movement of men, materiel and money for al Qaeda‘s global network.

* In 2001, an al Qaeda member "bragged that the situation in Iraq was ‘good,‘" according to intelligence made public by Mr. Powell.

* That same year, Saudi Arabian border guards arrested two al Qaeda members entering the kingdom from Iraq.

* Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi oversaw an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, Mr. Powell told the United Nations. His specialty was poisons. Wounded in fighting with U.S. forces, he sought medical treatment in Baghdad in May 2002. When Zarqawi recovered, he restarted a training camp in northern Iraq. Zarqawi‘s Iraq cell was later tied to the October 2002 murder of Lawrence Foley, an official of the U.S. Agency for International Development, in Amman, Jordan. The captured assassin confessed that he received orders and funds from Zarqawi‘s cell in Iraq, Mr. Powell said. His accomplice escaped to Iraq.

*Zarqawi met with military chief of al Qaeda, Mohammed Ibrahim Makwai (aka Saif al-Adel) in Iran in February 2003, according to intelligence sources cited by the Washington Post.

* Mohammad Atef, the head of al Qaeda‘s military wing until the U.S. killed him in Afghanistan in November 2001, told a senior al Qaeda member now in U.S. custody that the terror network needed labs outside of Afghanistan to manufacture chemical weapons, Mr. Powell said. "Where did they go, where did they look?" said the secretary. "They went to Iraq."

* Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi was sent to Iraq by bin Laden to purchase poison gases several times between 1997 and 2000. He called his relationship with Saddam‘s regime "successful," Mr. Powell told the United Nations.

* Mohamed Mansour Shahab, a smuggler hired by Iraq to transport weapons to bin Laden in Afghanistan, was arrested by anti-Hussein Kurdish forces in May, 2000. He later told his story to American intelligence and a reporter for the New Yorker magazine.

* Documents found among the debris of the Iraqi Intelligence Center show that Baghdad funded the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan terror group led by an Islamist cleric linked to bin Laden. According to a London‘s Daily Telegraph, the organization offered to recruit "youth to train for the jihad" at a "headquarters for international holy warrior network" to be established in Baghdad.

* Mullah Melan Krekar, ran a terror group (the Ansar al-Islam) linked to both bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Mr. Krekar admitted to a Kurdish newspaper that he met bin Laden in Afghanistan and other senior al Qaeda officials. His acknowledged meetings with bin Laden go back to 1988. When he organized Ansar al Islam in 2001 to conduct suicide attacks on Americans, "three bin Laden operatives showed up with a gift of $300,000 ‘to undertake jihad,‘" Newsday reported. Mr. Krekar is now in custody in the Netherlands. His group operated in portion of northern Iraq loyal to Saddam Hussein -- and attacked independent Kurdish groups hostile to Saddam. A spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan told a United Press International correspondent that Mr. Krekar‘s group was funded by "Saddam Hussein‘s regime in Baghdad."

* After October 2001, hundreds of al Qaeda fighters are believed to have holed up in the Ansar al-Islam‘s strongholds inside northern Iraq.

Some skeptics dismiss the emerging evidence of a longstanding link between Iraq and al Qaeda by contending that Saddam ran a secular dictatorship hated by Islamists like bin Laden.

Find this story here.
-----

Saddam has publicly stated on television that he loves the people of the US, just not their government.

What have you been watching, Mohammad Said Sahhaf reruns?

If Saddam was going to get WMD‘s

Ask the Kurds about the IF part.

That is a very ‘BUSH‘ way of looking at things and a pathetic one at that.

So, Canada was pathetic for going in after the Taliban for refusing to cooperate in surrendering Al Qaeda suspects?

The afghan thing would probably still have happened, but not Iraq, and over 500 Americans and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians would still be alive today.

Or buried under the dunes by Saddam and his sons. Tough luck for them, eh?

I disagree. Those men were not wealthy (personal wealth, not including the money they got from their leaders, correct me if I‘m wrong) and they most certainly were not ‘educated‘. Those men were brought up in a hate filled environment and were probably, constantly bombarded by anti-Western propaganda throughout the lifetime. If learning the Coran and how to fly makes them ‘educated‘ then I think all humans on this earth are ‘educated‘. Which of course is not the case.

Just look through the bios of the leaders of these movements, educated (some in the West), very wealthy, socially affluent. These are the guys we are hunting. By the way, learning to spell "Koran" properly would be a sign of being educated.

Bottom line is I think the war with Iraq was wrong. Yes, Saddam was bad; so are many other world leaders, who have been involved in worse things and you dont even hear a peep from Bush about them.

So, since there are other autocrats in the world, it is okay to keep Saddam around? Your going to have to justify that statement a little better for it to be taken seriously.

I don‘t know the real reasons Bush invaded Iraq and I don‘t think we will know for a long time, but it sure as **** wasn‘t about taking out WMD‘s or fighting terrorism.

Didn‘t you just say I believe I am right when I say that the US invaded Iraq to get rid of Saddam, but more importantly, to secure a long term supply of oil as the US‘s relationship with Saudi Arabia (they get most of their oil from them)has been deteriorating for some time" or...wait a minute, you don‘t know, but it ain‘t about WMD‘s or terrorism....what is it BigBird?

I say "fool" because the Spanish people are overwhelmingly against the **** going on in Iraq. When they voted for the Socialists, they used the ‘democratic‘ way to tell the government that they wanted out.

The Socialists won about 47% of the vote and about 77% of all the people in the country voted. 77% is an extremely good turnout, which makes me think that the people of Spain had something to say to their government.

The winning party campaigned on bringing back their troops if they won the election, and now they are keeping their promise.

People were pretty exstatic about Munich in ‘38 as well, and that was a smashing success. Go join the cheering crowds, for there is peace for Spain in our time!

Spain is not a coward at all, as some tend to think, of course everyone has their own personal opinions. The people of Spain were against the Iraq invasion and now that the people have had their chance to ‘speak out‘, they are doing what they believe is right; Not participating in the occupation of Iraq.

I was upset that some people would call them cowards. Those over here who think so are (in my opinion), are in no position to say such a thing.

If you had bothered to read into the incident, you would see that Aznar held a comfortable lead in the polls. Obviously something changed that.

As quoted by a fellow soldier on another forum
"Bottom Line: Terrorists just toppled a First-World -NATO- government.
Re-read that statement and think through the implications."


Keep chirping, cadet.

 

[1feral1]

Spain is caving in to the terrs, not pulling out!

This will be viewed as a victory for all AQ and AQ like groups.

Load-Action-Instant!

Cheers,

Wes

 

[Franko]

Well said Infanteer...rebuttal Bad Bird?

Regards

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

Infanteer obviously has a lot of time on his hands to write so much. Unfortunately, I don‘t have the luxury of time right now, since I have a ton of work to do for school and I have reserves tonight.

Infanteer I am no longer a cadet. I am a reservist in the Infantry. I am proud of my service in my cadet unit and your petty, demeaning comments about it doesn‘t effect me at all.

I will respond to his poor arguement when I have enough time to make a proper counter-attack. Until then Infanteer, keep it comming.

 

[Garry]

Hi!

While you‘re researching, take a look into the merger of Petro Fina and Elf, two of the biggest oil companies in France.

I believe that they had signed contracts with Iraq for exclusive rights to process Iraqi oil for the next 7 years, worth in the area of 100 Billion dollars.

About the same time the contracts were signed, Chiraq was trying to get the UN to lift all sanctions on Iraq.

I‘m sure it was a coincidence- though some of those rabid conspiracy theorists may bite.

I know enough of the way the world works to know that we are not getting the truth behind much of anything. I don‘t see that changing anytime soon.

Suffice it to say that at some point in time (say, when agression raises it‘s ugly head) you have to make a stand, and pick a side.

I pick the US.

Cheers-Garry

PS- I sure don‘t enjoy it much when you all allow emotions to get involved in your arguments.

 

[Infanteer]

While you‘re researching, take a look into the merger of Petro Fina and Elf, two of the biggest oil companies in France.

Didn‘t Total Fina Elf (TFE) come out of that? The largest shareholder of TFE is Paul Desmarais, who just so happens to be married to the daughter of a certain Jean Cretin.

Hmm....

 

[Exodeus]

Originally posted by Infanteer:
It‘s not the fact that we didn‘t contribute to the war in Iraq that get me, its the fact that we didn‘t even offer moral support to the Americans or the British. If we would have made a small contribution (a la Australia) or even just moral support for the actual war (a la Spain), I would have been satisfied.
[/QB]

(From Infanteer)

I agree with you 100%! That‘s what I was trying to get at when I was talking about our forces being spread so thin. We gave the US and Brittan the square root of nothing (in terms of support). That‘s was what bothered me the most.

 

[nbk]

I hate getting into political debates, as no one will ever change their minds no matter how much unbiased evidence is shoved in their faces.

Even if you are to believe the offical story that the US government has been going with since 2001, Spain‘s reason for exiting Iraq can be shown as a correct one.

"Al Queda" leader "Osama bin Laden" had declared Jihad on the USA in 1998 (I believe). His interpretation of the word Jihad was the equivalent of declaring war against the US. The "Offical Story" also accounts for his reasoning: US support for Isreal, and US infidel military bases in the holy land (Saudi Arabia).

"Al Queda" bombs American embassies, the USS cole, and eventually hits the homeland on 11 September 2001.

Now here is where most of you must open your eyes and make a quantum leap in your thinking. Most will be unable to do so, but I will put this thought out there for those who are not afraid of becoming a little more enlightened.

If you are to believe this offical story, then you must agree that fighting a war with "Al Queda" is exactly what the terrorists wanted all along. "Al Queda" never declared peace on the US, they declared war.

Clinton responded to this by launching cruise missiles at "Al Queda Training Camps" (and asprin factories) however this just made the "terrorists" pout and kick the ground because this was not the fight they were looking for (remember those "found" videos of the "camps", monkey bars and the like? A cruise missile will not be thwarted by running around in circles with black balaclavas). But then Bush comes along and hands to them the war they wanted all along. Ground fighting, troops vs troops, suicide bombers and all that deal, in two Arab nations none the less. This is a dream come true for these people who have been training and fighting and hating for so long...according to the offical story of course...

So you see according to the "Official Story" Spain‘s descision to pull out, would be causing a loss to the terrorists instead of appeasing them.

Remember the Spanish people elected a new socialist leader who was never pro war. I doubt that the bombing changed much, as the population of that country was very anti war in Iraq in the first place. As were the populations in other "Coalition of the Willing" countries. Id expect to see similar results when the UK and yes, even the US has their next elections (if they are not rigged like the last US election).

So please clarify how denying the terrorists what they want, deciding they do not want any more attacks on their country and fighting another country‘s oil war, is somehow "cowardly". It took a much bigger pair (is it mucho cajones?) to do that difficult thing and do what is right then it does to fight back with blind hatred and just feed the beast, however gratifying that would feel at first.

Its like having a fire burn down your house and being so mad at the fire you pick up the closest thing (a tank of gasoline) and throw it into the flames, just because you are so angry.

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

Good points nbk.

 

[Brad Sallows]

>Why can‘t we find out the root cause of the issue?

For a change, why not mull over the possibility which no-one seems to want to consider in polite company: what if the root cause really is "Convert or die"?

It doesn‘t matter how likely or widespread you think that motivation is. It is the worst possible case. It must be considered.

The perception of the Spanish electorate is irrelevant. For their part, they may believe all they‘ve done is resolve to disengage from an unpopular war. They need to think from their opponent‘s side of the map, and they haven‘t done that. On the other side, the perception may very well be that Spain is compliant and lacks resolve. Couple that to a "not one step backward" attitude to formerly Islamic lands, and life in Spain may prove very exciting in the near future.

I also see in breaking news that the French are being given no credit whatsoever for all their gestures of accommodation. You either accede to all demands, or you may as well accede to none.

It takes two to make peace, but only one to make war.

 

[Brad Sallows]

>"Al Queda" leader "Osama bin Laden" had declared Jihad on the USA in 1998 (I believe)

AQ and OBL also at one point announced the intention to regain the formerly Islamic lands of Spain. How ambiguous is that?

 

[1feral1]

I am NOT stiring the pot here but telling a few well known facts.... So read on.


Its all about radical Islam, and not being satisfied until the entire world is one giant Islamic state, and all us infidels are gone.

The Leader of JI (Jamil Islamya) based out of Jakarta, has even stated "even if it takes 100 yrs or more, Australia will be a fundimental Islamic state"! Its real and scarey.

My view its east vs west, and we WILL win! We have no choice.

Its a new and different type of war, waged against innocent people, who they view as easy targets, which indeed they are.

It may take time and lives, but the radical fundimentalists of this so called ‘peaceful‘ religion should be put down, but here, even the mild ones condone their activities, and as of yet, have not condemmed one action in which terror has been committed, whether its in Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, etc. Pretty sad.

In Sydney alone about 300,000 mulsims, and again say if 10% are radical, thats a 30,000 memebr force, and if say 10% of that are totally ‘out of it‘ thats a force of 3,000. we must not forget the many 100 who danced in the street all 12 Sep 01 long, and were happy that ‘The Great Satan‘ to a blow to its heart.

I have seen muslim men of all ages (say 25-75) spit at Australian women because of their swimming costumes, as muslim women go for a swim in their entire long vails and fully clothed. I have heard our women called sluts becuase of the western clothes they wear. But this is not in a far away Muslim countrty, its reight here in Sydney on our beaches.


Even the radicals picked up here in Australia have had the moderate ones condem their arrests.

BTW, does anyone know the largest Muslim country in the world? Its Indonesia, with 280,000,000 million Muslims living on over 13,000 islands, directly to our north. Thats why Australis whole defence strategy is based on a northern invasion. Even if 10% are radical, thats almost the entire population of Canada which could be considered hostile.

This war is much more deeper than Iraq, and if anyone cant see that, they should have a big giant re-think. Its about a hatred of the west period.

All war is insane, you can ask any old soldier that, but sometimes its necessary to preserve our way of life, and ensure that our kids dont have to go thru what our Dads and Grandads did 60 yrs ago.

The attacks on the west will continue, and that is a fact. Its not just a battle against George W!

So if you value our way of life, and the freedoms we have, and our childrens future, again sit back and have a re-think. Remember if you are not part of the solution, you are the problem.

Travel advisories are out in force for Australians to avoid any Muslim country for safety‘s sake. Try www.dfat.gov.au


Regards,

Wes

 

[George Wallace]

If you don‘t learn anything from History, then you will be condemned to relive it. BadBird, I have no idea of what you are learning or who your teachers are, but your, and their, thoughts seem to be very dangerous. Anarchist and Socialist philosophies have proven more distructive in history than beneficial. With everything I have read here so far, I question your education and that of your teachers. If you want to go through life with blinders on and a closed mind, then you are a very shallow person. Sorry, but you seem like a Troll to me and should be treated as such.

GW

 

[Slim]

Why is it that professional students never seem to learn the right things?

Sweetie pie...Let me know what your thoughts are when you are forced to pray to Mohammed at gun point or put to death because you are a "decadent Westerner."

You may not believe it but I do...that is their aim and, make no mistake, we are at war.

 

[1feral1]

Hey Badbird, maybe you should consider trading uniforms, as AQ are looking for a few good WO1‘s! especially with 7 yrs cadet experience!

Iraq was liberated, not invaded,as was France, Belguim, and Holland 60 yrs ago.

It aint about oil, thats a copout! Its about stopping a madman and the spreading of a disease against the west. Its about saving a country‘s population from a most horrible time.

This is like a cancer, we can watch it spread slowly, and watch something die, or do something about it quicksmart, which may safe much strife in the future.

I dont sling shyte very often anywhere, but after reading your lefty views, and then laughing at your profile of ‘experience‘(that of a child), frankly its people like you, that sadly I and others have to defend.

I think this ‘boy‘ (with no life expereince)is just a troll on this site, deliberatly stirring up things. So, go home and play with your hotwheels.

When you have the maturity, and expereince to say what you do, maybe then I‘ll give ya the time of day.

OUT!
Wes

 

[Infanteer]

So please clarify how denying the terrorists what they want, deciding they do not want any more attacks on their country and fighting another country‘s oil war, is somehow "cowardly". It took a much bigger pair (is it mucho cajones?) to do that difficult thing and do what is right then it does to fight back with blind hatred and just feed the beast, however gratifying that would feel at first.

Its like having a fire burn down your house and being so mad at the fire you pick up the closest thing (a tank of gasoline) and throw it into the flames, just because you are so angry.

Good points nbk.

I always wondered how Vichy France got around to doing things, now I know.

 

[Engineer Corporal]

It‘s hard to compare Iraq‘s situation with the one‘s of France,Belgium and Holland. The Motivations that brought us to war in World War 2 were more clear cut then today. How is the Oil arguement dismissed so easily? I find it a little funny that everyone always says that saddam had to be stopped immediately for the sake of his people.
Since when do Americans care about a nations people? Only if it coincides with their own national best interest. I mean their are alot more tyrannical dictators in the world. Why saddam why not north korea? The control of the oil is the only logical answer. The american People did‘nt care about iraqi‘s lives in the iran-iraq war of the 80‘s which they helped supply. With the intention of weakening both countries. Nor did it care about iraqi‘s at the end of the first gulf war when George Bush senior told the iraqi‘s public they had his support and they actually believed him and rose up and when no help came they were slaughtered. That‘s what bothers me the most about Americans nowadays that they can‘t admit when their wrong.

 

[Exodeus]

Badbird and nbk,
I can see where you‘re coming from, but we all need to keep our minds open on this issue. Wes is entirely correct to say that this is a war ‘about radical Islam‘. This is not a ‘normal‘ (if there is such a thing) war - it is a Jihad. A religious war. The objective is to convert or conquer the infidels.

Spain is repeating history. The Second World War started long after it theoretically should have. Germany broke the Treaty of Versailles in 1938 by kick-starting the war machine. They were even allowed to go so far as to invade Poland to ‘claim what was taken from them‘ after the First World War. Only after repeated offensive actions did the rest of Europe become entangled in war. This is just one of many examples of Europe‘s reluctance to react to an international threat, so to speak.

Spain has given the terrorists what they seek; publicity and proof of power. By (perhaps) swaying the vote in favour of the socialists, the terrorists have achieved their goal. I do not doubt that the Spanish people are not cowards, but I don‘t believe that they have chosen the wisest course of action.

I strongly believe that the best way to combat the terrorist threat is by continuous international military intervention (and by ‘international‘ I don‘t mean only the United States, England and Australia). Full United Nations support is required. Force all points of refuge from the terrorists. Any nation that does not aid in the fight either by their own means or by allowing UN forces to occupy their territory, will be accused of helping the enemy and will thereby be labeled an ‘enemy‘ themselves.

There are more than likely some flaws in my ‘proposal‘, but I believe the logic is sound; An international threat will not be defeated without international support.

I‘m open to any and all comments.
-Dave