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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (4100)	2/15/2003 9:54:41 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 15987

Michael....." Also can pull our troops out of germany and south korea. Let them all fend for themselves. Of course we are both just kidding or are we? "..... Well I don't know if we are kidding. In the middle east Israel needs some protection, not to sure about that they are a very powerful country now. But the rest of the muslim countries...what would happen to them if the USA just told them all to stuff it. They would likely spend the next 100 years killing each other trying to decide which sect of islam is the true one. And if they are killing each other maybe they would have lass time to kill all us infidels. Anyway it appears to me that the USA is being pulled in to many directions. When they try to help they are accused of interfering in another countries internal affairs. When they stay out of conflicts with countries where human rights are being abused they are accused of neglecting poor countries. And which country gives the most aid to poor countries than any other country on the planet.... Sometimes I think the US media is the biggest enemy that the USA has.

To: michael97123 who wrote (4100)	2/16/2003 8:03:23 AM
From: gamesmistress	Respond to of 15987

The Cold War is over. Why should the US keep such a large presence in Germany anymore? We are willing to spend the money to have a mobile, technologically advanced military and Europe isn't (can't, actually, according to a recent WSJ article - most of their military funds are spent on their unionized, aging, out of shape troops), so if they feel they're not threatened by Russia or Iraq or any other country, fine. We keep hearing that the war against terrorism can't be fought like a conventional war, which is true, so the bases in Germany won't necessarily help us much for that either. I don't see it as "withdrawing from the world," but the nature of warfare is shifting and we have to respond to that if we are not going to live under constant threat of terrorism. Of course, there are already complaints that the US will be reducing or removing its military presence in Germany solely because we are pissed off at Schroeder, nothing at all to do with new geopolitical or military realities...sigh. BTW, did you know Al Queda is now supporting itself by selling Bin Laden Tapes on Ebay? talk about a new reality..:-/ Purported Bin Laden Tape Claims U.S. Plans Attack on Muslim World Associated Press CAIRO, Egypt -- An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden calls President George W. Bush "stupid" and claims U.S. war plans against Iraq are part of a plot to attack Muslim nations in the Middle East and North Africa. The tape appeared to be the same 53-minute recording of which a few excerpts were released Thursday by the British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency. It began appearing in full Sunday on Islamic-oriented Web sites. Al-Ansaar had said it acquired the tape from a seller who advertised it over the Internet. The U.S.'s goal in waging war against Iraq is to change the regional map to benefit Israel, according to the raspy voice said to belong to Mr. bin Laden. "It is clear that the preparations to attack Iraq are part of a series of attacks prepared for nations of the region including Syria, Iran, Egypt and Sudan," the voice said. "The aim of the Crusaders' campaign is to prepare the atmosphere for the establishment of the so-called greater Israel state, which includes great parts of Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and large portions of [Saudi Arabia]," it said. It wasn't possible to verify the voice was Mr. bin Laden. Last week, U.S. counterterrorism officials in Washington were reviewing a transcript of Al-Ansaar's tape, but said they could not verify its authenticity. Officials there said on condition of anonymity they couldn't be certain of the speaker's identity without reviewing the actual recording. Al-Ansaar news agency released some quotes from the tape, and described it -- like the full tape released Sunday -- as poetic with several Quranic verses. Imran Khan, who runs Al-Ansaar, translated the tape and quoted the voice as saying: "In this final year I hurl myself and my steed with my soul at the enemy. Indeed on my demise I will become a martyr." "I pray my demise isn't on a coffin bearing green mantles. I wish my demise to be in the eagle's belly," the voice continued in what Al-Ansaar interpreted as Mr. bin Laden's wish to end his life in a final act of terror against the "eagle," or America. Similar words were used in poetry recited at the end of the 53-minute tape heard Sunday on an Islamic Web site. Mr. Khan could not be reached Sunday morning. The voice on the Web site recording said it is possible to defeat the U.S., despite its strong military and huge economy: "It is possible to target the bases and concentrate on the weak points and if 1% of these points were hit, [America] will stagger and stop ruling the world in an unjust way." The tape also praised the 1998 attack on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, calling the latter a "beautiful and courageous operation ... destroying America's idols." "Their [Americans'] stupid leader claimed we envy them for their way of life, but the truth that the pharaoh of this age is hiding is that we attack them because of their injustice toward us and the Muslim world, especially Palestine and Iraq," the voice said. Earlier last week, Al-Jazeera satellite television station aired another tape attributed to Mr. bin Laden in which the voice urged Iraqis to back Saddam Hussein and carry out attacks against Americans. U.S. officials said they believed that voice was Mr. bin Laden's and claimed it showed his ties to the Iraqi government. Copyright © 2003 Associated Press