Posted on 01/21/2003 12:11:43 PM PST by Uncle Burt
My goodness. You've simply crushed my spirit.
Now, what in the hell makes you think it will be any different this time around than it was the last? That if we go in and it ends relatively quietly and quickly as it did last time (not damn likely) that anything will change? You are laying all your eggs in the getting rid of Saddam basket. Guess what? It didn't happen last time, did it? I'm sick of seeing these kids deployed all over the flipping world to deal with other peoples' conflicts. Or did it slip your mind that Iraq didn't invade us last time?
Huh?
Is that a typo or ????
It makes no logical sense as written (maybe you mean: "You're right", as in "You are right") ...
This is madness.
I doubt a few inspectors will unearth it. I also have no doubt that if we wait till he is strong enough, that Saddam is mad enough to use all of it.
Have you had a chance to study what is called "The Civil War"?
http://www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm
The Price in Blood! Casualties in the Civil WarAt least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The number that is most often quoted is 620,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation's loss in all its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam.
The Union armies had from 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men. Their losses, by the best estimates:
Battle deaths: 110,070
Disease, etc.: 250,152
Total 360,222
The Confederate strength, known less accurately because of missing records, was from 750,000 to 1,250,000. Its estimated losses:
Battle deaths: 94,000
Disease, etc.: 164,000
Total 258,000
A common misconception that continues to this day and continually reinforced by media 'harping' and those whose present purpose in life is to hound the current administation ...
Iraq, being a member of the Axis of Evil as well as a violator of numerous UN resolutions as well as agreements reached at the end of the Gulf War faces now only *one* consequence for a failure to meet a clearly spelled-out ultimatum - invasion and a US-controlled disposition of it's leader ...
A short-sighted observation that doesn't acknowledge the rules of engagement that were in effect for The Gulf War.
An inaccurate statement.
Many NGO's ( non-governmental organizations) based out of the United States involve themselves in relief efforts in these and many other countries.
A lot more usually lies behind the scenes in this countries too -like *their own governments*, either explicitly or through out-moded, ineffective and dictatorial policies- which then hamstring any efforts by the people residing in those countries to better themsleves.
It's just flat amazing what the adoption of the rule of law in the way of The Constitution did for this country.
Aside from whether this was rude or not -
- was it not true that accomodations may actually have been *too small* and the cars to restrictive for comfort?
A lot of Americans now simply tower over their not-as-well-fed overseas brethren. (And I'm not considering the somewhat overwight or obese US traveller either!)
And as to the size of accomodations, transportation facilities and the like - we are talking about what is popularly described as 'socialist Europe', where (equivalently) gas is five dollars a gallon and the price (I'm sure) of home heating oil is similarly priced (not to mention natural gas) ...
Where was it he expressed that he was specifically 'looking for respect'?
Is this not something *all* people desire, indeed, is owed, by one member of civilized society to another member of civilized society?
The way you worded that question is more on a par with elementary school playground bullying.
Apparently you've never heard of the US Civil War.
No reasons are jealousy or envy, at least not in Europe.
Having had the experience of living in Europe as well as the US, I'd have to say that this is simply untrue. I've had countless Europeans assume that because I was an American I was much wealthier than they were - one incident that specifically stands out in my mind was when I went to buy a leather coat in Firenze and the very first coat I tried on in one store was just the design I liked and a perfect fit.
A group of young Italians immediately began whispering about how I was a typical American - here they were carefully looking, trying to shop on a budget and an American just waltzes in and buys the most expensive coat five seconds after he arrives!
Of course, the coat cost half of what I would have expected to pay in the US - I have many, many similar anecdotes, all of which involve Europeans assuming that I am some kind of millionaire, which I certainly am not.
There is clearly an envy factor involved. The standard of living in France, Spain and Italy is far below what most American suburbanites are accustomed to, and in Germany and Switzerland the standard US amenities are available, but are considerably more expensive.
Using your stated source of data, the CIA Factbook, the main European nations have an average spending power per citizen of between 52% (Spain) and 85% (Switzerland) of an American. This indicates that the average American has something like 30-50% more disposable income than the average European.
If Europeans are concerned about their economies (which they certainly are) and Americans appear to be so much better off, envy is quite natural.
And the fact that you are a European makes you less qualified to assess whether Europeans are envious or not.
Americans can certainly be arrogant - but Europeans are not immune to that vice. Americans can certainly be meddlesome, but this is also a vice which Europeans have been known to indulge in.
At the same time, Americans are also willing to accept the vast responsibilities those positions entail.
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