Re: Maybe if they went after bin Laden like promised Al Qaida wouldn't be so powerful in Iraq -- Albany MSNBC Refugees Forum

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Date Posted: Tuesday, January 10, 08:05:12pm
Author: BJ
Subject: Re: Maybe if they went after bin Laden like promised Al Qaida wouldn't be so powerful in Iraq
In reply to: Ace 's message, "Al-Qaida: Iraq withdrawal victory for Islam" on Friday, January 06, 04:56:57pm

US turns up heat on Syria
Tuesday 23 March 2004, 12:03 Makka Time, 9:03 GMT
Suddenly everyone on Capitol Hill is demanding Syria withdraws its troops from Lebanon so, they say, the tiny Middle East nation can regain its sovereignty.

Possibly the most significant US steps have been the loftily named Syrian Accountability Act and the Lebanon Sovereignty Restoration Act, which US President George Bush signed into law in December 2003, expected to impose sanctions on Damascus.

The US legislation demands Syria withdraw its estimated 20,000 troops from Lebanon. It also calls for an end to its support for "terrorism" and a halt to alleged development of weapons of mass destruction and medium and long-range missiles, charges Damascus denies.

Syria is the main powerbroker in Lebanon and wields a firm grip over Beirut's security apparatus and government.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, on a visit to the Gulf, reiterated what have become almost feverish calls for a withdrawal, so that Beirut can enjoy "full sovereignty".

State Department spokesman Nabil Khury, who was responsible for liaison between Washington and the Arab media during the US-led war against Iraq, again emerged in the region to send a US message.

"The old arguments that this presence was necessary as collateral for recovering the Golan or to protect Syria's flank in the event of an Israeli attack are now obsolete and out of date," he told Lebanon's French-language L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper.

Lebanese opponents of Syria's presence have increasingly voiced their demands for a full Syrian withdrawal, emboldened by the death of Syrian leader Hafidh al-Asad in June 2000. University students have frequently organised mass rallies, which often end in clashes with riot police and dozens of arrests.

However, it is highly unlikely that US policymakers have taken up a crusade to restore sovereignty to Lebanon, said Arab and Western analysts.

These calls "should be seen more as an exertion of American hegemony rather than any kind of principled support for international law or Lebanese sovereignty," said Stephen Zunes, Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project, a US thinktank.

"If we were concerned about Lebanon's sovereignty we would not have supported 22 years of Israeli occupation," he added.

THE POSSIBILITIES:
First Afghanistan. It was an issue of revenge (and an oil pipeline).
Then Iraq. More revenge (and the world's largest oil reserves).

Is Syria next?

And is Syria even a threat?

Well, according to Bush, it IS.

And according to Bush's foreign policy, it is "shoot first, ask questions later".

But can the United States economy handle another war? Or is the US overstretched to possible economic collapse?

The pricetag for the Afghanistan War was 1 trillion american dollars.

The pricetag for the Iraq War was 3 trillion american dollars.

The US National Debt is now $7.14 trillion.

Bush more than doubled it.

The debt continues to grow at a rate of 2.03 billion per day.

And the World Bank is threatening to place a debt limit on the United States (meaning they CAN'T overspend and ask for more loans).

Bush has already made cuts to NASA and other "non-war essential programs", including health and educational programs. Bush's priority of attacking Arab oil-producing countries means that education and health in America is suffering.

The economic sanctions on Syria, is just the first step towards a 3rd war.

The threats and allegations of "possible weapons of mass destruction", or allegations of Syria seeking WMD is step two.

We already KNOW Iraq was innocent.

So will the argument of possessing WMD work in Syria?

Well, its election year in the United States. Americans (and the world) may soon find out. The issue of whether or not the US should attack Syria could make the election a kind of referendum on whether the United States "WANTS" another war. Or two.

Jordan is also considered to be a threat.

Well, lets measure the chances that Bush wants to attack Syria and Jordan next:

Syria has 2,400,000,000 (2.4 billion) barrels of oil reserves. Jordan has only 445,000 barrels of oil reserves.

Skip Jordan. Jordan isn't a threat. They don't even have much oil left.

So Syria it is.

And if Bush attacked Syria, Israel would join in and help. After all, Israel had a previous war with Syria (1967), in which Syria lost some territory (Golan Heights) to Israel.

But that would be very unwise.

The whole thing is very UNWISE. A third war has the potential to UNITE arab countries together and make a much more widespread conflict.

So a possible third arabic-american war.

In my mind, this is sheer stupidity. Osama bin Laden worked for the CIA as a spy during the Gulf War. And he came back for revenge.

After two more wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, how many more people will come to the United States seeking revenge?

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Replies:

Re: Al-Qaida: Iraq withdrawal victory for Islam -- MuaDib, Wednesday, January 11, 11:43:52am

You are correct that it does nothing to make them physically stronger. -- Ace, Thursday, January 12, 06:44:58pm

Re: You are correct that it does nothing to make them physically stronger. -- MuaDib, Tuesday, January 17, 09:51:30am