Just wondering what the Board members thoughts were on the US & UK invasion of Iraq. Especially since no WMD's have been found as well as no links to terrorism , to date. Is this war justified ? Have UK petrol prices risen as US prices have ? ( $1/gallon in a year ). Some think this war is about securing a stable link to Middle East oil. What are your thoughts...

 

I don't like to get into political thing because of all the differances, In the begining the I was all for the war, and it did lead us to capture Saduam, which is good in it self, now I do have my second thoughts but i am still for the US being in Iraq. Oil prices may seem expensive rigth now buit they are actually not, considering what peple pay over seas for fuel. I just put up with it and pay the price, I do belive we are fighting terrorisom and also feel safe, I also do belive that the way our goverment is work is heping in the long run. I don't belive we will ever see a war on american soil again, and i belive a big part of that is cause of our goverment. Thats my opinion, and my right to say that. Everyone else here has the same right as well, hey it's America and we know whay we have this right.

 

FREEDOM DOES NOT COME FREE!

Saddam is gone, good point Mike, people in Iraq and Afghanistan can now vote, children can now go to school, women can be women instead of property. So let me ask you this: For these people's freedom and a higher sense of security, is it going to hurt you to pay a little more at the pump? Put yourself in their shoes, or should I say sandals or whatever they wear over there. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who were in the WORLD TRADE CENTER or THE PENTAGON or the FIELD IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Have you forgotten? How it felt that day, to see your homeland under fire and her people blown away? (this is a country song by the way, so is this)

Toby Keith:
Now this nation that I love is fallin' under attack.
A mighty sucker-punch came flying in from somewhere in the back.
Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye,
Man, we lit up your world like the fourth of July.

Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.

Instrumental break.

Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage:
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.
An' you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.
'Cos we'll put a boot in your ***, it's the American way.





I work as an intern for Congressman K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas-11) and around here immigration is a much bigger issue. We are from President Bush's hometown and the capital of petroleum production in Texas (maybe United State but I would think Alaska would be bigger). It is high here, but the price y'all pay at Texaco comes back to us in a roundabout way. West Texas is booming!

In Midland (coming soon) new stores that i know of are as follows:

Walmart SuperCenter
Joe's Crab Shack
Cracker Barrel
Chili's
Starbucks
several new furniture stores
1/8 mile dragstrip (desertthunderraceway.com)
Drive in movie theatre
Downtown development such as landscaping and redesigning buildings, dividing Wall St. with trees between oncoming lanes

In Odessa, Texas coming soon:
Hooters
Manufacturing places for oil field industry (4 that i can think of)


All of this because of the boom that our industry is experiencing. Life is great in West Texas, cheap real estate too. I was looking at homes in Cloudcroft, New Mexico 80,000 will get you a ****ty 800 sq. ft. no garage, no fireplace, etc. here, 80,000 will get you two acres, storm shelter, three car garage, fireplace, two shops in backyard, four bedroom 2.5 bath about 2300 sq ft. (my parent's house, not new)


New houses are being built everywhere around the Permian Basin.

ok, enough rambling by me

 

Hell yea 05landrover! I'm with ya!


'Cos we'll put a boot in your ***, it's the American way.

And NO ONE will ever tell me to forget 9/11, and live through it

 

Gonna play neutral here. There is growing speculation of what Iraq had to do with Terrorism/ 9-11. To date, no credible evidence has linked the two. Many people are suggesting that we are fighting a war for no reason because of this ? It has also been suggested that creating a Democratic country in the heart of the Middle East will set a good example ?

 

i would like gas prices to go down a bit, and i honestly couldnt care less who we have to mess with...

 

The answer is simple and two-fold:

- We consume too much fuel and cannot refine enough and that is why the price is so high. If we all cut-back 25% (Diesel/Hybrid/Motorbike) the price would drop.

- The war with fundamentalist Islam is never going to end. There is no "winning" it. We are the infidels, haram, Satan to them. Our conversion to Islam or our deaths are their only goal. (Israel or our foreign policies are a red-herring). There is no negotiation. Remember 9/11. The only way to tackle it is to confront it head-on and keep on hammering back. If you think we can appease them, you are wrong. You think I am wrong? Try and preach Christianity in Saudi Arabia or any Islamic country. We may have our faults and our system is not perfect but at least we have a choice.

Kudos' to GWB for taking the actions he has. Many wrong steps will be made going forward but at least he sees and knows that action needed and needs to be taken. (Remember the US Embassies in Africa, the WTC bombing, the USS Cole: All this happened before 9/11 and we did nothing). Yes, there were no WMD's in Iraq but Saddam is gone along with his regime. Inaction is no longer an option!

If anyone believes that the actions in Iraq are to secure the oil, and not a step towards change in the Middle-East, they are sadly mistaken and have not taken notice of the attacks on the US over the past 15 years.

 

Wow !

Great post VinD.

Question;

Why is this so ? They don't seem to have a problem with Eskimos or Mexicans ? What drives such rage against us ?

 

Thanks Bait.

By us I guess you mean the Spanish, Australians, British, Baliians, Russians, Indians, Americans, etc. ??? If these great democracies fail what chance do the Mexicans or whomever stand?

Do you think what is happening in Darfur is an illusion? Read the Koran and learn: Convert or perish is their one and only commandment!

 

I see the proganda in the USA is still going strong... Before you state that it doesn't happen, all countries do it, anddoes not matter what government is in power at that time. It is normal politics, the hard part is working out what is truth and what are white lies to allow the government to do what it wants.

The WMD was a white lie, for both in the USA and in the UK, it has now come to light at least in the UK that the government here knew that WMD did not exist in Iraq before action was taken.

It would have been far simplier to have just come out with the fact they wanted to remove Saddam, they would have still got enough support to do the action, and also if the USA had not demanded with the UN that it should be the leaders of such an action, the UN would have acted. (Was this anything to do with the issue that GWB's dad lead the previous battle with Iraq and didn't finish the job then?)

Iraq should have been done differently to the way it was, it should have been a UN action not a USA lead force, this has only increased tension in the middle east.

Remember, oil form Iraq was not been shipped out before the conflict, and now it is, yet prices have gone up. Prices have gone up simply due to supply and demand. Those in europe know this and have been pushing for alternatives for some time now, and several are now appearing on the forcourts, (bio diesel, ethonol, hydrogen, electric etc... ) Also industry has been changing to make itself more engery efficient etc. The reason for the demand increase is because of the increase in demand from developing countries as they catch up to the rest of the developed world.

Using religion as an excuse to invade, cause acts of terrorism by any country or any party is just that, an excuse. Remember also the fact that AQ is not fighting for one country int he middle east, but fighting for their own belief's, this includes fighting other members of the muslim faith. The Christian faith has similar extreme groups as well, which is something that is forgotton, likewise other faiths have similar issues too.

When it comes to the price you pay at the pump, we are now at £1.10 per litre, (some places in the highlands of Scotland are reported to be as high as £1.25/litre) This was before the rise we are expecting due to the Hurricane cutting supply.

Remember, everyone in a free society are free to hold their own opinions and believes, otherwise it is no longer a free society.