American veterans who cut through the bull****.

[Al B. Sure!]

Um... because Americans love killing brown people?

Aint nothing brown here physically.

Brown also refers to oppressed peoples, victims of colonialism. Historically, Arabs were the conquering 'oppressors' not the oppressed and never experienced the oppression of colonialism.

Arabs are not brown literally or figuratively.

[Lorizael]

You may have missed the point.

[Al B. Sure!]

The point doesn't make any sense. Americans love killing brown people but invading Iraq wouldn't have killed too many brown people. If we wanted to kill brown people, we'd invade Pakistan or Sudan or something.

[ColdWizard]

What the? Are half of us just bloodthirsty people?

There was all the torture stuff to help justify it. It was bad, the EU and UN said so.

[Lorizael]

The point doesn't make any sense. Americans love killing brown people but invading Iraq wouldn't have killed too many brown people. If we wanted to kill brown people, we'd invade Pakistan or Sudan or something.

Yes, that was the point. See my post before that one.

[giblets]

We went to war because it was popular. Afterwards, it became unpopular because it didn't go as well as people hoped. They rationally updated their beliefs about the war once they saw the results.

It was popular because the government claimed Iraq was developing "weapons of mass destruction" and people believed it.

[giblets]

Aint nothing brown here physically.

Brown also refers to oppressed peoples, victims of colonialism. Historically, Arabs were the conquering 'oppressors' not the oppressed and never experienced the oppression of colonialism.

Arabs are not brown literally or figuratively.

How far back is "historically"? Pretty sure the Arabs were conquered by the Ottoman Empire, then ruled by the British and French. I don't think the Middle Ages is what people are talking about when discussing "colonialism".

[Al B. Sure!]

How far back is "historically"? Pretty sure the Arabs were conquered by the Ottoman Empire, then ruled by the British and French. I don't think the Middle Ages is what people are talking about when discussing "colonialism".

Go look up the nature and length of the League of Nations' mandates. Are Afghanistan and Iraq colonies ruled by the United States?

[giblets]

What difference would it make if they were colonies?

[Al B. Sure!]

What difference would it make if they were colonies?

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony, and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by colonizers from the metropole. Colonialism is a set of unequal relationships between the metropole and the colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population.[1]

That doesn't describe the short-lived League of Nations' mandates at all.

The first group, or Class A mandates, were territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire that were deemed to "... have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory."

How is a foreign country intervening (for 12 years in Iraq and ~20 in Palestine/Syria) to facilitate the transition to independence the same thing as colonialism?

[giblets]

Yes Al, League of Nations mandates were not OFFICIALLY colonies

[Al B. Sure!]

Yes Al, League of Nations mandates were not OFFICIALLY colonies

Where was the economic exploitation?

Never heard of colonies being set up with the specific intent to leave in a few years.

You explain to me what similarities existed between those mandates and other colonies like India or Kenya.

[Al B. Sure!]

New Apolyton debating tactic.

If you claim X and are presented with evidence Y countering X, you respond with "Yes. Y. rolleyes smiley".

That's how you win arguments!

[Jon Miller]

That's new?

JM

[giblets]

Where was the economic exploitation?

Never heard of colonies being set up with the specific intent to leave in a few years.

You explain to me what similarities existed between those mandates and other colonies like India or Kenya.

Colonies aren't necessarily economically profitable. Unless you think Libya wasn't an Italian colony?