US isn't very picky when it comes to chosing allies

[GeneralTacticus]

That was the intention, but the US had several spies operating as weapon's inspectors who were looking at entirely different things. This has also been confirmed by the UN.

Confirmed where? And if some of them were spies, why not expel them and let the honest ones in?

[Serb]

Originally posted by GeneralTacticus


Why? It's a lot easier, if slower, to kill people by mass starvation than by execution.

The relevant paragraph form the article -"While police and Communist Party officials remained quite well fed, desperate Ukrainians ate leaves off bushes and trees, killed dogs, cats, frogs, mice and birds then cooked them. " - does not detail whether those who bowed down to Stalin were spared. I doubt it, though, since their food would have been part of the quotas like everyone else's. And food for them would have been stopped at the border like everyone else's.

EDIT: Most of the population was already living in communes by the time of the famine. Stalin ordered it because they didn't like it.

Look, I don't justify Stalin or trying to revision those events. He was a total sick bastard. His reign was the most terrible time in Russian history and it made a scar to almost every Russian family, including my own. He was a real curse for us. I don't see why we should continue to disscus him anymore.

[Serb]

Originally posted by Kramerman
We do care about oil, but not nearly enough to stick around in the middle east. This region is by far the leading foreign source of headaches, we dont need that. We got plenty of stuff here at home to give us headaches. It is not worth the pain and suffering our presence there causes.

It's cheaper for you now to took most of the oil from nearby regions, then from Middle East. But Middle East is the largest stockpile of oil on this planet and when your neighbors will run out of oil, the Middle East still will have it. I think your government think about future times and trying to strengthten US influence in region by all means.

You dont seem to understand. First of all, the 40 year estimate doesnt take into account the vast untapped underwater reserves, were the majority of the worlds oil still waits. Next, reasons we are pulling our oil interests out of the middle east is just as much political than anything else.

Yes, it's about political reasons as well as economical reasons.

Also, oil may only perhaps be important for the next 15 - 20 years. American as well as Japanese and European motor companies have been progressing by leaps and bounds on alternative fuel for cars, such as fuel cells which is the primary consumption of fossil fuels. Oil is the past.

Utill my car is powered by gasoline instead of water I think oil isn't a past yet.

SPYS? WTF. The job of the inspectors was to make sure Saddam had no functioning weapons of mass destruction.

Sure. Does it mean they should have been gather information about any strategic object of Iraq, while US keeps bombing Iraq? Checking presence of WoMD it's not the same as spying about anything else. Weapons inspectors it's perfect cover for CIA agents

When did he agree to let inspectors back in? I never heard of this, I only heard that he was receptive to the idea. Though this is bull****, as long as he says this he is just buying time to keep the US off his back.

Perhaps, what else he could do? He knows that you gonna invade his country.

WTF do you not get about this? Your arguements are groing more and more irrational. Why dont you just swallow your pride for 5 seconds and agree that Saddam is in the wrong, and if he doesnt comply with the cease-fire that he agreed to, we have every right to attack him just for that. Sometimes I think we should attack him just for being a cruel leader, but that would never be tolerated.

Then take UN mandate and act. If Iraq is guilty he should be punished, if not leave it alone. Why humanity created such organisation as UN after WW2? Isn't exactly for such situations?

This debate is just starting to get rediculous.

Ok, let's stop it.

And no, I have not been able to locate Fall out. Perhaps you could mail it to me . I havent really looked very hard though. Not much time. I will though, it sounds like alot of fun.

Yes it is. It's the greatest RPG ever.

[Serb]

Originally posted by Ghengis-Sean

oh, and Serb, can you say "Croat"? how about "Bosnian"? how about "Albanian"? when the Serbs recognize that the fact that they attempted to exterminate millions of people then you can post your BS, until then pipe down and learn humility. You like to talk about WWII alot, but that happened in our grandparents lifetimes, Kosovo happened just a few years ago. WHAT DID YOU DO TO STOP IT?????

Millions? Why not billions?
What personaly I could done to stop NATO bombs? hmmm.... I don't know, I guess nothing. My country should have been try to do something, but Yelt-sin sold our brothers, **** ***** *****. It's a shame that we had such helpless president as Yeltsin.

So, how do you feel now, the liberators of Kosovo? The people who torn a part of Christian Serbia and throw it to Muslim Albania. The people who supported agressive extremist terrorist organisation. Feel happy? Feel proud that you supported UCHK? Sure, such nice guys they are, peacefull and honerable. After you bombed Yuogoslavia to stone age and forced to surrender Kosovo, those guys didn't stop. They attacked Macedonia. What a nice guys. Peacefull victims of Serbian monsters.

let ye without sin cast the first stone.

Amen.

[DanS]

Mark,

I heard that you were not very picky with your boyfriends. Do you think I could get in the action? Let's make an EU-US "partnership"...

[Ned]

Somehow I think to posters here believe that the US, France and England went to Kuwait to protect Kuwaiti oil for the West. I don't think that is the issue. I don't believe we would have any problem gaining access to Kuwaiti or Iraqi oil with Saddam there. Only by selling the oil can Saddam get the money he needs to buy arms and WoMD. His aims are not to conquer the world, but to conquer his Arab brethern in all directions, at least to the extent they have oil, and to wipe out Israel.

We have an alliance with Saudi Arabia. When it appeared that Saddam just might carry his invasion South into Saudi Arabia, we acted - undoubtedly at the request, if not the demand, of Saudi Arabia.