Maybe We Should Kill More of Them

boblonsberry.com ^ | 6/30/03 | Bob Lonsberry

[arete]

They are a bunch of worthless pathetic excuses for humans that don't have the balls to fight for their own freedom...we have to do it.

What makes you think that we had to do it?

Richard W.

[Lazamataz]

Bob Lonsberry is the King of the sentence fragment.

I lived in Rochester, NY. A more pompous, arrogantly idiotic person, you will not find. Lonsberry is a blight on Rochester.

[Lazamataz]

What makes you think that we had to do it?

Manifest destiny.

[Lazamataz]

Baths are easy to lay ones hands on.

Agreed. I saw some lovely ones in Expo. But I must admit, the high-tech shower stall (with built in TV and radio!!!) was the most impressive.

[wideawake]

Geneva convention -- that's a good one.

Really - why do you say that? Unless you're one of those who get confused between "unanimous UN approval" and "compliant with the Geneva Convention" and think the phrases are identical.

It isn't the Ba'ath Party's country any more than Germany belonged to the Nazi Party.

My brother is in country right now and he'll tell you that the average Iraqi isn't afraid to tell him: "Hey, we appreciate the Ba'athists being out of power and I would like our countries to be friends and allies, but the sooner you guys leave the sooner we can start feeling like a normal society." It's a fair comment and taken in good part.

In Mosul, people were actively overjoyed by the presence of US troops, however, and didn't want them to leave.

The average Iraqi isn't interested in putting in the time and effort necessary to assassinate US soldiers. The only ones who are, are the thugs who have the most to lose in a free Iraq.

[Captain Kirk]

The problem with the "get tougher" policy is that it will undermine the "hearts and minds" policy and attract more Iraqis to the guerrillas. Whether it is "get tougher" or "win their hearts and minds," the policers are have a "wolf by the ears" as long as they keep holding on. The most logical way out of this "police action" is to declare victory, hand over authority to an interim govenment, and get out.

[milan]

It worked in the past...why would it not work now?

[MissAmericanPie]

I prefer the rain shower myself.

[headsonpikes]

"So we should stop trying to be Officer Friendly."

The writer has a gift for sentence fragments AND banal metaphors.

A twofer.

[Captain Kirk]

Kill the crowd for what purpose? What does killing the crowd have to do with national defense?

[MaxPlus305]

Furthermore, killing random inocent Iraqis is going to turn these average Iraqis into anti-Americans. Sure, we could just continue to slaughter them until they all submit, but unfortunately, Bush has made statements to the effect that he is not a Mongol. Damn his Western sensibilities.

[MississippiMan]

But this war was so quick and almost painless to the Iraqis that they don't have that same sense of suffering and defeat, like the Japanese and Germans did post WW II.

Agree. In wars past, it was so horrible that the conquered people didn't want a repeat, so they forced change when the shooting stopped. In today's PC wars, we've removed that element. With the exception of a precious few, it's as if a war didn't even take place. They just looked up one day and there we were, policing their streets.

We also need to understand that the vast majority of people there hate our guts, far worse than they hated even Saddam. This was always the glaring flaw in the "liberation of Iraq" silliness. Yes, a small percentage will be glad, those who suffered directly at the hands of Saddam and his minions. But if a genuine, free election were held today, I'll bet a buck to a donut that they'd re-elect him in landslide if he were on the ballot.

MM

[DCPatriot]

"Well, it might feel good to say such things, but in the end, war is more complex than just killing people."

The hell it is.

[dark_lord]

I say hit the hometowns of the Baath party leaders. Carpet bomb them. See how willing they are to fight after we annihilate their families.

This only works if you kill everyone, without exception. Which doesn't happen. Even carpet bombing only kills a relatively small percentage of the population. Human beings are really pretty tough -- kind of like cockroaches, pigeons, and sea gulls. And what happens if you don't get them all? This is what happens: you kill some guys wife and kids but miss him. He goes and becomes a dedicated anti-American fighter. He kills some of our guys by sniping, eventually he gets killed. We go bomb some more villages, make more guys just like him.

So why don't we just kill everyone, without exception? Because, surprise, we really do want a functioning country with an oil infrastructure that we can use to:

(a) Strategically offset the Saudis when we get around to them.
(b) Act as a territorial base for our military to do ME power projection. This means having a functioning economy where we don't have to ship everything from the good old USA.

Ergo, we can't just kill everyone. And if we don't just kill everyone, then your strategy would cause more problems than it would solve.

[Lazamataz]

Kill the crowd for what purpose?

Amusement.

[Captain Kirk]

Amusement....so much for the dream of 1776 of individual rights and liberty. Perhaps we should put Attila the Hun instead of Washington on the one dollar bill and make it official.

[Freebird Forever]

For that matter, what does a Conservative Republican look like?

It ranges between this

and this

[Lazamataz]

Amusement....so much for the dream of 1776 of individual rights and liberty. Perhaps we should put Attila the Hun instead of Washington on the one dollar bill and make it official.

Naw. Attila was someone elses guy. We need our own guy.

Elect me. I will bring the dream to reality.

And I will broadcast the carnage on Pay-per-view TV. :o)

[commonerX]

I will take it a step further. Their families should be executed for not turning them in.

Many German officers put out orders that for every one German soldier killed they would execute 10, 20 or more civilians. Sounds like you would have made a good living in Germany during World War II. For that matter the only way to stop american soldiers from being killed in places all around the world, as per your thinking, is to kill anyone who is not an American hence all treat is gone.

[milan]

Isn't that part of the human condition? You hate them for being so causing so many problems, but your heart goes out to them for their suffering and you have a desire to help?