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Azores Press Conference LIVE THREAD
Various

Posted on 03/16/2003 10:21:48 AM PST by Amelia

For discussion.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: azoresislands
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To: justshe
Since I envision the U.N. NOT changing course, they will cease to be other than a 'humanitarian' support agency, imo.

Yip. The writing's on the wall. That's what's going to happen -- take it to the bank.

1,001 posted on 03/16/2003 4:17:52 PM PST by The Great Satan (Revenge, Terror and Extortion: A Guide for the Perplexed)
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To: Scott from the Left Coast
Yeah, or brings ham on rye instead
of peanut butter and jelly!
1,002 posted on 03/16/2003 4:22:06 PM PST by txrangerette
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To: txrangerette; The Great Satan
We danced to this played by a Live Band at our local nightclub last night
Been playing it all day as "our war theme" song after the listening to the new "BOOT Alliance" (GLDNGN's title for the Atlantic Alliance) speak today.

2003Audio:http://www.melaman2.com/tvshows/mp3/Secret_Agent_Man.mp3

1,003 posted on 03/16/2003 4:27:33 PM PST by oceanperch (Support Our Troops)
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To: EGPWS; abnegation; MadIvan
Fox just reported that opposition groups in Iraq have already blown up a railroad line and are droppling leaflets.

Hmmph. I read that in an article MadIvan posted last night here on FR....

1,004 posted on 03/16/2003 4:27:40 PM PST by Amelia
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To: alnick
What is interesting is that Bush says what he is going to do, and does it, and everyone is surprised!
1,005 posted on 03/16/2003 4:33:28 PM PST by Redleg Duke (Stir the pot...don't let anything settle to the bottom where the lawyers can feed off of it!)
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To: oceanperch
"war song"???

You pinged ME and GREAT SATAN for
this???

But GS says there will never be a W
war on Saddam(pssst...anthrax threat/
blackmail)...Bush is just pretending.

Did you know that?
1,006 posted on 03/16/2003 4:43:25 PM PST by txrangerette
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To: lawdude
Thanks for the ping!!Been out all day, I've been reading a half-hour to catch up.
1,007 posted on 03/16/2003 4:50:12 PM PST by fml
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To: Redleg Duke
Bush says what he is going to do, and does it, and everyone is surprised!

Always tell the truth. You will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

1,008 posted on 03/16/2003 4:53:28 PM PST by AndyJackson
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To: Redleg Duke
What is interesting is that Bush says what he is going to do, and does it, and everyone is surprised!

Yes! He just called the UN's and France"s hand! Lo and Behold, it seems he turned the tables on them again!!!!

1,009 posted on 03/16/2003 5:07:24 PM PST by woodyinscc
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To: All
Baghdad,Irag Forecast
1,010 posted on 03/16/2003 5:13:24 PM PST by TexKat
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To: Dog
Does Saddam strike first or wait?? I know I'm nosey..:-)

I'm still waiting for Saddam to reply to my e-mail. ;-)

Seriously, here is what I see unfolding, assuming there is no diplomatic breakthrough on Monday and Saddam doesn't suddenly decide to take asylum. I believe Saddam is holding out hope that the UN, led by France, will bail him out. Once he sees that they will not be able to hold the TAA back is when he will strike out, yes, with a first strike; however, I don't believe the first missiles he lobs will be aimed at us. He knows that if it is simply him against us, he will be wiped out. His strategy, IMHO, will be to start a war between Israel and her Arab neighbors. He will try to accomplish this by lobbing missiles and bombs into Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He may also send a few into Iran and Kuwait. That, I believe, is his plan. How successful he would be is another story. First, he needs people to pull the triggers, and, secondly, we will certainly do everything we can to prevent any offensive weapons of his from hitting foreign soil.

Why would Saddam use such a strategy and strike out at his Arab neighbors? First of all, he has NO love for any of those neighbors. He fought a decade-long war with Iran, took over Kuwait, and threatened to invade Saudi Arabia. If we had not taken action to kick him out of Kuwait, he would probably inhabit those 3 countries by now, especially if he had developed "the bomb". As we know, he has gassed his own people, so he certainly would have no problem with attacking fellow Arabs, especially ones aiding our efforts here (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan). If he does attack these other countries along with Israel, he would then announce to the world that an American/Israli war on the entire Middle East is under way. He would want the world, especially the Arab world to believe that it is Israel and US that has attacked Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He would want Israel to think that the bombs landing on them are from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. His only hope is utter chaos. Remember the American and British uniforms that Saddam has? He could well put out video of supposed Alliance atrocities against innocent people at the same time he starts the bombing. Obviously, he would be trying to get the world, especially the Arab world to rally together and fight Israel and the Alliance.

Now, of course, with detection equipment it can be shown where these missiles are originating from, but Saddam wants to imflame the people of these other nations into thinking they are under attack from the Alliance and Israel. He would like the people of these other nations to ignore what their "puppet" regimes, and the Alliance/Israel is telling them. If a bomb hits Amman, Jordan, and Saddam announces that "Jordan is under attack from Israel" the Jordanian people may believe him rather than the "official" denials. Again, this is just an opinion, based upon what he has done in the past and what his current actions are, including his troop movements. This is why I say his "first strike" targets will likely NOT be the TAA forces. He would hope that by NOT attacking us directly, he could buy himself a little more time to execute his other strategy, because he knows once he directly attacks us it is over.

It sounds frightening if this truly is his strategy, but I don't see him pulling it off for various reasons. As previously mentioned, he needs people to pull the triggers and drop these bombs. Some may refuse to do so. He also has to hope that he gets past the defensive measures we have taken. I would assume that Jordan and Saudi Arabia are prepared for such a scenario and have taken defensive measures themselves, although it's certainly not out of the question for a missile or 2 to get through. I believe the heaviest loss of American life in Operation Desert Storm was when a missile hit a base in Saudi Arabia. Finally, one of our initial goals is to dismantle or takeover Saddam's ability to communicate with his forces and with the outside world. It is important for us to be able to communicate directly with Iraqi people ASAP, so we are not going to let Saddam's propaganda drag on once the bombs are falling. He may get a few shots off with a first strike strategy, but we will end that ability quickly by eliminating the weapons, his ability to communicate, and by the surrendering of Iraqi troops.

Once the TAA goes on offensive I believe we will indeed see the "shock and awe" we have heard so much about. Expect massive surrendering by the Iraqi troops initially, and more still after a little "S & A". The hope is that after witnessing the utter hopelessness of propping up Saddam, that even his most loyal forces in Baghdad will turn on him, and give him up. If there's much street fighting it could well be a civil conflict between those opposed to Saddam and those trying to protect him. Of course we would love those closest to him to produce his head on a platter before we fire one (more) bullet, but we are prepared to do as much of the work ourselves. While I don't believe Saddam will ever surrender voluntarily or leave Iraq voluntarily, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of his top advisors, even his sons split when things go down, so don't be surprised if everyone we are looking for is not accounted for when the smoke clears and the dust settles. They will be fugitives.

One more aspect of this that I would like to touch is the reaction of the Iraqi people. Believe it or not, I see a lot of similarities between this situation and the Elizabeth Smart abduction. What in the world is to be compared there you ask? Well, think about it. ES was taken by a madman, held against her will, and (likely) abused in most every fashion imaginable. Hasn't Saddam done the exact same thing to his people? ES learned that survival depended upon one thing - obedience to her "master". The Iraqi people know the same thing - disobedience will not be permitted. This was so ingrained into poor ES, that even when questioned by police she tried to deceive them. Does anyone think that in her heart of hearts she really wanted to remain with these people? I don't. I am afraid that she must have been so terrorized, that in her mind, allowing ANYONE to know her secret meant terrible consequences. Her mind was so twisted to this notion that it was hard for her to accept that it could be any other way, even with armed police officers there. It meant she had to reveal the secret that was the only thing to keep her alive for months. It was simply hard for her to let go of that, but once she realized she was safe and she broke down. I know she has a long way to go, but I would bet that she is much happier today than she was a week ago. Here's another anology. Let's say a very cruel dog owner slams the door on his pet everytime it tries to go outside. Obviously, that dog will be conditioned to not go outside. Then one day the man is hauled off and somebody nice invites the dog to come outside and play. Do you think that dog is going to be a little reluctant to do so? Of course, due to conditioning. I think many of the Iraqi people are currently under similar circumstance. Some don't want to admit they have a brutal dictator, because to admit as much in public meant certain punishment. Once they realize that their liberation is at hand, and they no longer have Saddam to fear, I think they will "break down" and accept their new-found freedom with tears of joy. I don't know the exact moment that will happen, but I would think that once it is announced and proven that Saddam is dead, their national nightmare will be over as far as they are concerned.

See what ya get for being so "nosey"??? LOL

Keep the faith and keep the President and our troops in your prayers.

God Bless

1,011 posted on 03/16/2003 5:21:32 PM PST by GLDNGUN
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To: glock rocks
Post #1011.
1,012 posted on 03/16/2003 6:56:37 PM PST by Brad’s Gramma
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To: MeeknMing
The smallness of the Azores, and the way you describe living there reminds me of the way my daughter described living on Okinawa -- lush greenery, high winds and big waves. In fact, she liked it, too.

I'm glad Americans are learning today how friendly the Portuguese are. "Portugal says U.S. more trustworthy than Old Europe" when it comes to security.

1,013 posted on 03/16/2003 6:58:01 PM PST by WaterDragon (Playing possum doesn't work against nukes.)
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To: cyncooper
Thanks, cyncooper. All our people there definitely deserve our prayers. I hope they know they have them!
1,014 posted on 03/16/2003 7:01:01 PM PST by WaterDragon (Playing possum doesn't work against nukes.)
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To: Brad's Gramma; GLDNGUN
WOW.

wow.
1,015 posted on 03/16/2003 7:15:57 PM PST by glock rocks (pray for our men and women in harm's way. God bless America)
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To: glock rocks; GLDNGUN
Personally, I think our mystery poster is Vice President Cheney himself. Don't tell a soul, glock....
1,016 posted on 03/16/2003 7:24:16 PM PST by Brad’s Gramma
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To: Brad's Gramma
not a soul... my ripz are seplds;adjj.jx
1,017 posted on 03/16/2003 7:26:42 PM PST by glock rocks (pray for our men and women in harm's way. God bless America)
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To: glock rocks
Oh MAN, that must hurt. Did you have that thing sewn on or what?
1,018 posted on 03/16/2003 7:28:48 PM PST by Brad’s Gramma
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To: Brad's Gramma
supel grue. sruper gru. ssupr glru. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh.
1,019 posted on 03/16/2003 7:30:45 PM PST by glock rocks (pray for our men and women in harm's way. God bless America)
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To: glock rocks
Don't forget that when the time comes, you can use finger nail polish remover to get rid of that stuff. It's highly recommended that you not ingest any.
1,020 posted on 03/16/2003 7:32:54 PM PST by Brad’s Gramma
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