Reply to: Cost of Iraq war could top $2 trillion: study

[Joe Black]

The project is to keep the world's oil priced in dollars (so that the US can write its own IOUs and we all have to pick them up). The threat is the euro: Iraq priced its oil in euros, and suddenly it was invaded and its oil immediately priced in dollars again. Iran now takes euros for its oil but still prices it in dollars: that's the next (and fatal) step.

Going to war to protect the dollar's supremacy is the last thing on the table in Paris and Berlin.

Hmm, having just read that in Brazil over 50% of cars sold in 2005 can run on ethanol would it not be a better option for the US to forget about all this oil/pricing in $$'s and spend the odd 100 bln on making it totally independant of these sorts of places, especially given the people who seem to supply most of the resources these days?

Iraq had no terrorists or fundamentalists whatsoever prior to Sep 11th

Well the later they had by the bucket load, it's just taken a bit more time to ensure they sit in all parts of the gov't...if you can call it that.

"The interpretation of the Constitution shall be the responsibility of the Guardian Council"

[AlfredJPruffock]

Correction Alf, as far as I can see, Iraq had no terrorists or fundamentalists whatsoever prior to our invasion in March 2003.

What does BGK mean?

Thx SP of course I meant prior not only to Sep 11th but the war itself, the BGK ought to have been BGG Board Game Geek, hmmm ... guess its time for a cuppa now ...

While the World Wages War
It gets harder to see
Who your friends really are

[stackpole]

BTW BGK Iraq had no terrorists or fundamentalists whatsoever prior to Sep 11th , sadly the War has increased terrorism not reduced it.

Correction Alf, as far as I can see, Iraq had no terrorists or fundamentalists whatsoever prior to our invasion in March 2003.

What does BGK mean?

[AlfredJPruffock]

I think the biggest irony out of all this is that they went after the wrong madman.

Iran is really asking for a war and, to be honest, I think it is seeming justifiable given their actions and rhetoric.

If the septics had gone after these lunatics who are openly developing nuclear capabilities and threatening attacks on Israel, then the World community would have backed them and a real threat would have been eliminated. No phoney intelligence would be required and a vastly immoral white elephant would have been avoided.

As it stands, another gulf war looks inevitable which would be even more disastrous on the back of Iraq. Going cap in hand to the French and Germans for support must smart a little. Maybe they will refuse again after the Yanks cried wolf the last time.

Why Iran rather than the barabric evil empire of Suadia Arabia who spawned Bin Laden and the fianance for Sep 11th ?

BTW BGK Iraq had no terrorists or fundamentalists whatsoever prior to Sep 11th , sadly the War has increased terrorism not reduced it.

Anyway thx for your comments,it saddens me that our so called leaders were so short sighted not to see that war in Iraq would be a grave error, will they learn from their mistakes ?

Iran ...our last terratorial claim.

[expat]

I think the biggest irony out of all this is that they went after the wrong madman.

Iran is really asking for a war and, to be honest, I think it is seeming justifiable given their actions and rhetoric.

If the septics had gone after these lunatics who are openly developing nuclear capabilities and threatening attacks on Israel, then the World community would have backed them and a real threat would have been eliminated. No phoney intelligence would be required and a vastly immoral white elephant would have been avoided.

As it stands, another gulf war looks inevitable which would be even more disastrous on the back of Iraq. Going cap in hand to the French and Germans for support must smart a little. Maybe they will refuse again after the Yanks cried wolf the last time.

Of course they will. The project is to keep the world's oil priced in dollars (so that the US can write its own IOUs and we all have to pick them up). The threat is the euro: Iraq priced its oil in euros, and suddenly it was invaded and its oil immediately priced in dollars again. Iran now takes euros for its oil but still prices it in dollars: that's the next (and fatal) step.

Going to war to protect the dollar's supremacy is the last thing on the table in Paris and Berlin.

[wendigo100]

Speaking of which I wonder how many of the pro war folks prior to the conflict still think it was all worthwhile ?

Good question.

1. There are those on the "get Saddam out and impose democracy" ticket, and few of them will ever change their minds.

2. There are those who feared him using WMD, and they will have changed their minds, because they now know that there never was any real evidence of WMD.

Also, there are many who think that tactically it would have been better to leave Saddam Hussein in place, since he was fighting for us, quite successfully, at the front line against Al Qu'aeda and other nutty fundamentalists in the region.

[Shimano105]

I think the biggest irony out of all this is that they went after the wrong madman.

Iran is really asking for a war and, to be honest, I think it is seeming justifiable given their actions and rhetoric.

If the septics had gone after these lunatics who are openly developing nuclear capabilities and threatening attacks on Israel, then the World community would have backed them and a real threat would have been eliminated. No phoney intelligence would be required and a vastly immoral white elephant would have been avoided.

As it stands, another gulf war looks inevitable which would be even more disastrous on the back of Iraq. Going cap in hand to the French and Germans for support must smart a little. Maybe they will refuse again after the Yanks cried wolf the last time.

[EternalOptimist]

Bgg

Thats the problem with you board gamers. You can only come up with a winning strategy after playing a dozen games and seeing all the pit falls. In the real world you only get one shot so its got to be right first time.

[AtW]

Looking back on it now, I can see that the only sensible and cost-effective solution would have been to nuke the place off the face of the earth.

Precision strike on Saddam would have done the job - or a team of assassins. All totalitarian states have way too much weight placed in a single person whose assasination can change a lot.

[Board Game Geek]

Speaking of which I wonder how many of the pro war folks prior to the conflict still think it was all worthwhile ?

In retrospect Alf, that's a thought-provoking question, and I think I will have to hang my head in shame and say, ok mate...it wasn't worthwhile was it ?

All that effort, all those lives, and for what ? A complete mess.

Looking back on it now, I can see that the only sensible and cost-effective solution would have been to nuke the place off the face of the earth.

I think that would have saved countless lives on our side, and sent an unequivocal warning to the rest of the dodgy terrorist nations that the US mean business.

For the price of some decent large nukes, they would have had plenty of pocket change left to develop a cure for aids or cancer, which they then present with the other hand.

No point being big and powerful, if you don't temper it with something nice as well.

[AlfredJPruffock]

Surely if that money were to be used to help cure gayness then the world would be a better place. There is some literature on finding the gay gene - what if we could identity and eradicate the Labor gene too - surely that would be worth the money as well.

Aye JW

Yet surely the cherry on the cake would be the eradication of the HR gene ?

Now theres a noble cause ....

[Jabberwocky]

No - but if anything significant was developed then it would have been in popular press and TV.

$2 trillion is about $333 per person in the whole world - barely enough for a night out in London, but it could eliminate famine and save millions of people who would otherwise certainly die.

Now please provide information about medical breakthroughs from those jurnals, but please skip those that refer to improved version of Viagra.

Surely if that money were to be used to help cure gayness then the world would be a better place. There is some literature on finding the gay gene - what if we could identity and eradicate the Labor gene too - surely that would be worth the money as well.

[wendigo100]

What's all this about dismembered troops? They were all home by Christmas 2003, as scheduled in Tony Blair's Grand Plan.

[Lucifer Box]

I'm sure you are absolutely correct.

[AtW]

Do you read any medical journals?

No - but if anything significant was developed then it would have been in popular press and TV.

$2 trillion is about $333 per person in the whole world - barely enough for a night out in London, but it could eliminate famine and save millions of people who would otherwise certainly die.

Now please provide information about medical breakthroughs from those jurnals, but please skip those that refer to improved version of Viagra.