Think about this (War in Iraq)

[Wallyboss]

Here is something I received from a friend, Makes you wonder??

Subject: Fw: Interesting Statistic


> This is good...>>>Interesting Statistic
>>>
>>>
>>>Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the U.S. involvement in Iraq, here is a sobering statistic:

There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre
of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,867 deaths. That
gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 persons
for the same period.

That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in
the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington

[Badger Shark]

Now thats funny! The pulling out of Washington part.

[Joisey Joe]

Saw this and was wondering what it was, so I read it. I am against the war but give my support to the troops there. They signed up for whatever reason but knew this could happen, to be put in harms way. It's sobering to me to reduce their sacrafice to stats, these are lives we are talking about here! Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters have lost their lives, the families will never be the same without them. Think about that for a while before you make jokes like this.

The same can be said for the D.C. people that died, they had families too. I have to say I'm not happy to see stuff like this here. It has no place anywhere, period. Joe.

[gussser]

Some people will never understand that THEIR froodom is not FREE. During WWII lots of US & Canadian soldiers gave their lives fighting out of their own country so that fighting in their own country would not be necessary. Some will never understand that either. I have & will continue to offer my life so that my family will not have to offer theirs. Yes at 60 I still serve my country & am proud of it.

[gussser]

Wallyboss-----Maybe if the libs pulled out of Washington The US wouldn't have to.

[Wallyboss]

I am very sorry if anybody thought that I was trying to make a joke of the troops fighting for our countries.

!! My son is in the Armed Forces. He's 16 and has just finished is Basic Military Quailification, this summer he is going to Gagetown New Brunswick to take a 6 week course which will be his first step in becoming a Combat Engineer, He has just been to his first courses at the Shooting Range. And the first thing he did when he came back was to Thank Me for bringing him hunting with me and getting him shoot my rifles at a very young age, he said that most other guys that were there were not used to the noise of a shot and the next few they were anticipating too much and could not get a good shot, but he zeroed in his rifle in 4 shots and then went 24 out of 25 in a 2" pattern. I too support the troops and it has nothing to do with supporting the mission. I never meant to talk against them just against the politicians who decides about the missions.

The way I took the Washington thing at the end was just because that is where the politicians that decide about the missions are. I was in no way trying to talk against the forces.

Joisey Joe and Gusser please let me know if i have insulted you in any way and I will pm Bobber to get rid of this thread I never meant anything bad about this.

[Kpin]

It's no secret about the media's role in downplaying casualties in this regard. Ever notice you rarely, if ever, see footage of a negative manner, casualties, etc.?

A journalist friend of mine, (if you remember the Canadian journalist, held hostage and tortured). Upon visiting some American military camps, said morale was so low, it wasn't funny. This was in the wars early stages too. An even scarier thing was the suicide rate of soldiers there.

We did not and of course, would not, hear of such things. It would discourage the american public too much.

I personally support our soldiers for their courage, though, I don't support the war. I will always support them.

[gussser]

Wallyboss-----Not insulted in the least----I support my team when playing on our HOME field or on the opponents field. I support my team & the coach. Don't know how it's possible to support the players & NOT the coach---Or how to support the players while hoping they lose for political reasons. I am VERY HAPPY that this is an AWAY contest. GO YANKEES--DUH = I HOPE JOE TORRE LOSES------BEAT bOSTON-- DUH= BUT NOT ON THEIR FIELD. Think about it. I thought the Washington thing was FUNNY as you intended it to be. GUSSSER

[kunobasski]

I've made some comments about this before, and It is usually at a cost.
But I have a question....And please take it seriously, joking aside.

Regarding the US an Canadian troops that have been sent to war, I would like to know exactly why they have to go over to that hell hole and get shot up.

I have heard that it is for our freedom thousands of times, but last time I checked, Iraq was not planning a full scale attack on canada? This is not a world war unlike ww 1 and 2 where as a very capable enemy was threating to earn world domination...and we were forced to protect ourselves.

Very unbiased studies have shown no positive outcome due to the war in eithier in afganastan or Iraq, and no exact, I say again, Exact reason has been issued why we have citizens of both such contries over there fighting. Saddams gone, which was a joke, ossama is a figure head at best, and insurgance is actually a term used by our political leaders to lable people from Iraq who are fighting back against invading countries. ie Can. US. GB.

Remeber, no WMD were found, no nukes, no nothing.....just sand, more sand and whats that other stuff called??? Oil

I support our troops as well.....support them being brought home alive and healthy and and not getting killed senslessly for politial gain...

Get them outta there.....

Kunopaski T.

[Pepe]

Trevor - September 11 2001 - say no more ................... almost everything in the terrorism world originates from those countries - throw away those "unbiased" studies. Go to the source and attack the heart.

Wallyboss - good to hear about your son - Gagetown will teach him life lessons and mature him. Glad to see he's chosing a career path at such a young age.

Pepe
21 years serving and counting ....................

[kunobasski]

Pepe,
We've talked about this before, and obviously your going to have a contrasting viewpoint then that of a "uneducated civilian" such as myself.

The thing is, with todays technology and communication abilities, simply dismissing actual facts to adopt beliefs fuled bt fear and paranoia is absurd.

There are documented Interviews with US solidiers claiming that thier unsure of thier final objective and see no apparent end to what ever it is there getting killed for.

Terrorism? 9/11 thats sums it up....and makes it all ok.

I have a question and please answer honestly.

If the wars in the middle east stopped right now, and all the soldiers came home, would terrorist activity increase right away in north america, increase somewhat, increase slightly, or not at all?

Ok one more question. If terrorists stike again in the near future while all those soldiers are overseas fighting, would that totally make all thier deaths in vain? answer that truthfully?

Again I'm not dogging the troops, Im doggin the people who made the decision to send them there.....

Its a hard sell to justify the "non reason" to why these soldiers have to die pepe, but I totaly admire your conviction and well say that is conforting to know that our soldiers don't ask questions, they just do what is asked of them, and hopefully well do so when ever a "Real" crisis breaks out...

Militant Kuno.

P.s. you must of liked when the politicians, the very same politicians who sent our troops over there, started badmouthing the soldiers and investigating thier actions and treatment towards prisoners of war, who I assume must have been terrorists if they were taken in...
man, now thats support from the coach.....

Just bring them home already!!!!!!!!!!!

[gussser]

kuno That's right, Keiser Wilhelm attacked Canada to start WWI----oops fraid not. Hitler attacked Canada in WWII===oops fraid not.. Radical Islam's stated goal IS world domination. And there capability was demoed in New York, London , Spain, India, Philipines, etc. That seams to encompase the WORLD. Sorry BUT must disagree with you.

[kunobasski]

Gusser, what are you talking about? By the looks of it your disagreeing with something other then and possibly the farthest off coarse misinterpitation of a post ever?

A Good point though> what ever it was you were trying to disagree about?

Wait are you saying the WW1 and WW2 were insignifficant compared to the Iraq mess? that Islam is worse then NAZI Hitler........I guess it is safe to assume that your stance on the the Vietnam war is that it actually prevented the world from suffering at the hands of a 3rd world communist country?

Hey, who won that shoot out anyway? Was anything accomplished? and did anyone learn anything from it?

Lets get back to the original post....statisically your more opt to get plugged in DC the Iraq.....

Terrorism... Islam.....Osamma Bin Laden...
Vtech....christianity.....George W. Bush.......

Thing is....the latter of the 2 lists is here and now, and are way bigger issues that need to be adressed immiediatly.....

Terrorism.....Islam.....OBL.......just a media mainstay on a slow news day....Its sad.........

Anyways, 24 is on...jack bauer is fighting terrorism single handedly....what hero.......they should send him to iraq to clean it up......

Tkuno

[Joisey Joe]

Hey, W-B, well I've learned one thing, never respond to a post while on pain meds late at nite! Had a wicked tooth infection and was in alot of pain, remind me not to mouth off in that condition again. Godspeed to your son, the Salerno family wishes him well and will pray for him. I just took the post the wrong way, sorry for that, didn't mean to cause a stir, shud have PM'd you first. Please keep us informed on how your son is doin and let him know we are behind him and all his buds! Joe.

[Kpin]

Kunobassi...

My, perhaps wrong view of this is;

Terrorism is a very real threat, that attacks in other countries will not counter, given extremist terrorists born and bred within our own native lands. Difficult to fight an enemy that blends in so well.

I'd wager if there wasn't an amazing wealth of "black gold" (oil), in said regions, the most powerfull nation on Earth, wouldn't bother to waste even a simple thought on them.

In regard to Canada, our current, recently elected Prime Minister is contented to follow Bush blindly like a puppy wagging it's tail. (After all, let's be serious, we Canadians know better but the overwhelming majority of the world just looks at us as "really nice guys." The States look at us as a profitable trade partner, held firmly under the thumb in regard to military and economic ways. We, are unfort. looked at as the "simpleminded but super nice and igloo loving cousins to the North."

The simple truth is, the States are the most powerfull nation on Earth currently. Many, (not all), Americans look at us Canadians and think we should be humbly gratefull to be geographically placed by them and thank our lucky stars, they are there to protect us. Many other contries feel the same pressure and entered the war, strictly waged by the US intially.

It's a modern day Vietnam and hopefully will not result in the same loss of life. It's $$$ and a global economy vs. how effectively political spin doctors can convince voters it's based on saving the world from terrorism.

I'm against this war. I've talked to so many people about it in regard to their thoughts. Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Middle Easterners, to to form an opinion that was informed rather than just what I thought. The result is an overwhelming and essentially global nod of dissent and frowning upon it.

I'd like our troops home. We've lost many a good man/woman. Why? To finish what George Sr. started and couldn't finish? To blindly follow a Texan accented twang from a man that could potentially plummet the globe into a greater disaster because he recognizes he is infact the leader of the current most powerfull nation on Earth and in his arrogance feels he can do as he deems fit?

I slammed the Queen in another thread but she put Georgie in his place at the White House when he attempted to make the event a cheerleading event for the war. She effectively put him in his place. So, I'll grudgingly give the old bird her due and keeping him in check. "God save the Queen."

I might get slammed for this but so be it. In the end I think these kinds of military endeavors are mostly due to $$$$/OIL and making a clear sign the civilized world will not put up with mindless violence and terrorism.

Unfortunately, in the long run, I think, it will only breed further resentment from the Middle East, if that is even possible, given their longterm hatred of western society and particularly the US already. I think sadly, ultimately, it will encourage further terrorism and senseless acts of violence and loss of innocent lives caught in the crossfire.

Wow....sorry...really long rant. Ok...1 sentence summation...BRING OUR TROOPS HOME!

Oh and some scientist guy pls explain to Bush global oil reserves will be practically depleted in 50 yrs and to ...ummmm I don't know...concentrate on...hmmm...a cancer cure? clean air and water? Sheesh, even give that supernerd Bill Gates a makeover or at least tax the bloodsucker to death!