Quote:
Originally Posted by Deuces McKracken
Again...al qaeda was next to nothing pre-911. They were able to place some explosives not to some targets and run and hide in some caves. Now, following the inhumanly violent, illegal invasion of Iraq and smashing of Libya, we have a group too radical for al quaeda which is much, much bigger than al quaeda ever was. ISIS exists because we invaded Iraq. Even Trump, dumb as he is, acknowledges this.
Who smashed Libya?
Al Qaeda was "next to nothing" before 2001? You don't know very much about it if this is what you think.
Quote:
Let's say someone was ****ing with you. You're in danger and there is nothing you can legally do about it. You need help and your two choices are your pacifist pastor friend and your mobster cousin. Who are you going to call? You've never wanted to get mixed up with your cousin, but you think he could match this bigger threat. Who do you call? Who do you join forces with? The one who is about that action, that's who.
And then your mobster cousin forces you to give up all females in your family to be forcibly raped to provide children for the next generation. He tells you that you have to pray his way, or he will douse you with gasoline and light you on fire.
Good choice.
Quote:
They way to defeat ISIS is to stop giving the Saudis weapons and diplomatic support and to stop waging endless wars against the region.
If this were to happen then the Saudis would do these things in order:
1) The Saudis would immediately buy weapons from France and Russia and the US would have no "seat at the table".
2) The Saudis would immediately try to purchase nuclear weapons from N.Korea and/or China, and the US would have no "seat at the table".
3) The US Navy would be evicted from all forward operating bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. The US would no longer have a stabilizing presence in the MEG.
4) IMO, Saudis would begin a chemical weapons program.
Then, IMO, the next thing that would happen is:
Iran announces a nuclear weapons capability "to defend themselves against Saudi Arabia".
Fanatical Islamist groups around the world decide that the King of S.A. should no longer be the custodian of Mecca and Medina and decide to incite war on the Arabian Peninsula to liberate it.
FWIW, I prefer that US (and UK and NATO) have a seat at the table in the Middle East.