Time for democrats to admit they underestimated President Bush

[Seneca]

I must admit I never thought he'd blow the budget surplus quite that quickly - well done, Mr Bush!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Words fail me in the light of your knowledge of history and political science.

Bow down in front of your master .

Mark my words, invading Iraq unilaterally (or even just with Britain and some minor countries) will bite us in the ass. Not in the short but DEFINETLY in the long run. Hell, it's only a matter of time before nuclear weaponry falls into the hands of an Arab state. I sure wouldn't like to piss them off before that happens.

[SpencerH]

It could bite us in the ass anyway. Even if every UN country provided troops for an invasion of Iraq there would be Moslem extremists who would blame the USA and Israel. What worries me more is WMD in the hands of those lunatics now. Is doesnt take a great imagination to predict the possibility of martyrs infected with smallpox instead of carrying a bomb. If that happens in any significant numbers in the USA (and there would be given our inexperience with the disease and its lethality) I predict the end of Iraq as country.

[Sava]

Why do people go off-topic and create silly arguments like "Who is the US's best friend?" ?

It takes me back to my childhood days arguing amongst friends. "No, I'm Sava's best friend." "Well, Sava likes me more than you, he plays nintendo at my house"

oh please.... don't use the old smoke and mirrors to distract people from your weak arguments.

[Odin]

Che, lets revolt and put a socialist or greenie in the white house.

[chequita guevara]

You had me with revolt.

[DinoDoc]

che is revolting!

[St Leo]

This back and forth over who "Dad" likes best is quite amusing.

Of course, by "dad" you mean the kleptomaniac arsonist kid who ran away from home when asked to get a parttime job to help pay for his university tuition and to stop sneaking into the trans-Appalachian neighbour's pool when they weren't looking.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I wonder in the next 100 years who's ass the US will be kissing? Will it be China when they get to be the next hegemon?

China, the next hegemon?? Only if they abandon their bankrupt Communist economic policies and fully embrace the free-enterprise system , and the democratic govenmental system that come with it.

[Drake Tungsten]

Only if they abandon their bankrupt Communist economic policies and fully embrace the free-enterprise system , and the democratic govenmental system that come with it.

Since when do free-market economics and democratic government go hand-in-hand? China is doing a pretty good job so far of embracing the former while avoiding the latter...

[Chris 62]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Mark my words, invading Iraq unilaterally (or even just with Britain and some minor countries) will bite us in the ass.

This is an interesting comment in light of what's being said these days Imran.
The buzz that our diplomats have been leaking is the OFFICAL arab line in anti-invasion, anti-US action, while the PRIVATE line is almost 100% "please kill Hussein, he's a danger to us all".

Not in the short but DEFINETLY in the long run.

I disagree, especially if it's a quick invasion, followed by a rapid withdrawl.

Hell, it's only a matter of time before nuclear weaponry falls into the hands of an Arab state.

It already has, Pakistan.
Well, not EXACTLY arab, but Muslim.

I sure wouldn't like to piss them off before that happens.

I can't disagree more strongly with "Man in the arab street' stuff, history shows us the man in the arab street usually toes the line his government puts out, if the US acts as it's been, this will be favorable (Bush has followed international law all the way, the hysteria has always been that he would not).

As for this so called "revenge someday", are you kidding?
Your willing to gamble Saddam is OK, and let the Iraqis continue to suffer under this ***** because you fear that someday some OBL-like nut will retaliate for this "imagined" slight?

I wouldn't exactly call that a desirable postion Imran.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Since when do free-market economics and democratic government go hand-in-hand? China is doing a pretty good job so far of embracing the former while avoiding the latter...

Since the invention of the modern republic.

Try to couple despotism with capitalism, and the economy will strangle when the despot steals the profits.

[Drake Tungsten]

Since when is despotism the only alternative to democracy? China is becoming a fascistic state, which quite effectively mixes free-market economics with authoritarian governance.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The buzz that our diplomats have been leaking is the OFFICAL arab line in anti-invasion, anti-US action, while the PRIVATE line is almost 100% "please kill Hussein, he's a danger to us all".

BS, where have you been getting this, your 'sources'. And of course Iran wants us to invade Iraq. Then they can take more land. No country in the region thinks Saddam is anything more than a paper tiger.

I wouldn't exactly call that a desirable postion Imran.

Invading is an even worse position. Is isn't just an OBL like nut. It's the whole mood of the Arab world towards the US. Maybe even worse... maybe the Muslim world's reaction towards the US. BAD move.

I disagree, especially if it's a quick invasion, followed by a rapid withdrawl.

RAPID WITHDRAWL?! What are you nuts?! Leave a power vacuum so the Kurds can break off and Turkey goes on a Kurdish killing spree, Iran can grab more land and warlords battle it out for the rest of the country? Don't be absurd.

And what kind of message does that send? Tow the line or else the US is just going to go in and kill the leader. Yeah, that's gonna make people want to deal with the US and their companies.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
Try to couple despotism with capitalism, and the economy will strangle when the despot steals the profits.

History says otherwise. Nazi Germany was not only one of the most profitable countries ever, it was so profitable German capitalists ran into trouble when they had so much profit they couldn't invest it all. Hence the need to conquer Europe. They need places to invest (which couldn't be done otherwise because of tariffs and similar economic nonesense of the time).