tegan
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posted on September 28, 2001 10:58:30 AM new
All this crap we are getting from the Taliban;
"If you bomb us it will be a holy war, we can't find Bin Laden, we want are clerics to decide his fate,okay now we found him."
Every day it is a different piece of crap.
Since they think Americans are weak and don't have the stomach for war do you think they are just stalling until our anger cools?
Or am I just imagining this?
Worst of all is this tactic working on our leaders?
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Hepburn
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:07:35 AM new
Unfortunately, the terrorists won in many aspects. Not only did they kill thousands of people literally, they are now killing them spiritually. Vegas is a dead town; the airlines are going bankrupt; doubts and innuendos are rampant concerning other american citizens; the movie industry is scrambling for politically correct story lines; fear is ever present; jobs are being lost....
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.
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jamesoblivion
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:08:37 AM new
I don't think they're stalling and I don't think they're kidding around. This is their version of diplomacy. In essence, "we didn't do anything to you, leave us alone, if you bother us we'll be forced to kick your asses". Primitive, but I don't doubt their sincerity.
Is it working on our leaders? No, I don't think so. Even Colin Powell has said that there's nothing to negotiate with the Taliban (in the context of being asked about what Jesse Jackson might hope to accomplish). They're not milling around waiting for the Taliban to make a move. They're making plans and getting people and equipment into place.
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ConnieM
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:14:22 AM new
teagan-You mean do they think that Americans have short attention spans? Naw, where would they get that idea? (USS Cole, embassies in Africa, WTC in the 90's, possibly even TWA 800, etc...)
I agree Hepburn, are we gonna do it to ourselves?
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Hepburn
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:21:40 AM new
I agree Hepburn, are we gonna do it to ourselves?
Methinks that was the plan, along with a few pushes here and there, like, cropdusting stories, big rig stories, etc. Maybe even do a few more terrorist attacks if things settle down, just to stir the proverbial
sh!t to make it nice and smelly again.
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uaru
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:22:15 AM new
They're making plans and getting people and equipment into place.
I feel the direction is steady and focused, nobody is forgetting about anything. I don't think the US got permission to us the Saudi air bases for any strikes on Afghanistan till today or yesterday.
I know some were predicting attacks by the US days ago with confidence. I'm confident the US will take action, the time table and how isn't posted information. I don't think this will be a case of firing some missiles off into the desert and calling it quits.
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tegan
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:22:27 AM new
When I was in Germany I had a friend from Pakistan. I don't know how close the Pakistani mind set is to the Afhgani mindset but the one thing about me that used to make him crazy was my inability to haggle.
Everything to him was negotiable and he used a systematic approach of wearing down the shopkeepers to get the price he wanted.
When I went to college in Texas one of the English teachers told me that she got annoyed at the middle eastern students because they always tried to get her to change thier grades. She told me in thier mind it seems "Everything is negotiable".
Well I am seeing this same tactic now.
James I would agree with you if they had said bugger off and left it at that. But they didn't. They want us to leave them alone, they want to decide his guilt, they want proof, now they are asking him to leave.
Everyday it changes.
I will wait and see if it is working on our leaders. The rhetoric has certainly toned down.
As for me, I am still pissed off.
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uaru
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posted on September 28, 2001 11:44:23 AM new
The Associated Press is reporting that there are U.S. Forces in Afghanistan I believe the targets are going to be marked and then removed. It would be much easier if they could lay waste to the whole country, but that doesn't seem to be the goal. As much as I hate what happened to the WTC I do have some empathy for the Afghanis there are a lot of innocent bystanders.
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Antiquary
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posted on September 28, 2001 12:05:42 PM new
This story gives a little more specific detail about the U.S. Special Forces presence in Afghanistan. Apparently the foreign press has been reporting about it for several days.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010928/3493001s.htm
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tegan
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posted on September 28, 2001 12:15:33 PM new
uaru: thanks ..that is good news and bad news.
I also have empathy for those who have had to live with the Taliban. Living with those maniacs can't be easy. Now they have to worry about being bombed by us.
I'm still pissed but I am also afraid for the US soldiers.(or any other countrys troops that follow our lead)
I would give anything for just one day when the worlds seemed black and white again.
I haven't seen that since the Bay of Pigs and the Russian missles in Cuba incidents when I was young.
Just one day when I could say I felt this way about it without all the underlying feelings that seep in.
I want to be able to just once jump on the bandwagon without worrying about what route it is taking. But that is just not me.
Now that I think about it,no I don't want that. It would be easier, tunnel vision leads you on a nice straight line , no diversions
no doubts. Kind of like the terrorists themselves.
Nope don't want that.Nevermind, I'll stay just the way I am.
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uaru
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posted on September 28, 2001 12:22:41 PM new
I am also afraid for the US soldiers
I'm very afraid for them. I don't think for a second those US and British commandos want to die or be martyrs. Their actions are what fits my definition of 'courage.'
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kraftdinner
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posted on September 28, 2001 01:32:17 PM new
Thanks for the links uaru and Antiquary! I've tried to keep away from the news, but this doesn't suprise me. What I can't seem to understand is if they kill Bin Laden, so what? Isn't it the whole Taliban regime they're after? The U.S. wants the Taliban wiped out as being the main source of terrorist camps, so what good will just killing Bin Laden do, or is this just the goal for now?
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Antiquary
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posted on September 28, 2001 01:54:12 PM new
Hi Kraftdinner,
I've heard from administration/government, about 5 years, 10 years, or forever, for the war on terrorism to continue, so bin Laden would only be the first target. I'm also guessing that the plan now is for the Northern Alliance to defeat the Taliban with allied assistance. But beyond that no one knows for sure what the plans are. I would guess that Iraq is high on the list though.
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buyhigh
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posted on September 28, 2001 02:37:17 PM new
We already know that Bin Laden is only one of many leaders of mutiple Muslim Terrorist groups of like mind and purpose throughout the Middle East. The governments of Egypt and Algeria have been fighting them for years Wiping out Bin Laden only means that his successor takes over and so the 5-10 year projection seems reasonable.
buyhigh
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krs
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posted on September 28, 2001 02:44:48 PM new
You're right Dan, it's been in the UK press since yesterday morning from WH info the day before. Apparently there were pretty detailed releases by the White House. No telling why the wires were so slow to put it out.
Also your links language containing " But their arrival here 2 weeks ago and subsequent movement into Afghanistan have been reported by English- and Urdu-language newspapers here, and would not come as a surprise to bin Laden or Afghanistan's ruling Taliban" is in line with the report from the Pakistani news of airplanes landing and disembarking groups of people in the night last Sunday. I don't remember where I posted that link but it's here somewhere.
These are really the only sensible approaches to this. Find the guy and kill him. Then carry on with more of the generalized effort as you mention.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/27-9-19101-2-0-28.html
[ edited by krs on Sep 28, 2001 02:53 PM ]
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gravid
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posted on September 28, 2001 04:29:24 PM new
tegan - There are ways to deal with that gaggle mentality. First is to raise the price instead of dropping it at their counter. First time you do that they will ask what you are doing and you explain you offered a really good price and they dishonored you by not appreciating that. They will either walk away or be happy to accept the original offer.
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outoftheblue
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posted on September 28, 2001 07:53:04 PM new
Hepburn
Unfortunately your are correct. The terrorists have won. People are living in fear and paranoia reigns. It's all over the news and talk shows. People just don't know how to go on. They are buying gas masks even though they would be useless if a biological weapon was used.
This is exactly what the terrorists wanted to accomplish and it worked! They don't have to do anything else. We see threats everywhere even where they are highly unlikely.
We need to Take the necessary precautions, quit living in fear and get back to our lives.
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