Military action by the West - well I'm not very impressed so far.

[xanakis]

Lets review what has been done thus far:

- They make a big song and dance about how this isn't a war on Islam and about not wanting to offend the Muslims. Then the very frist thing they do, before a single shot has been fired, is they name it "Operation Infinite Justice" which offends every single muslim in the entire world.

- They send spy planes over Afghanistan one of which gets shot down by the Taliban. The Taliban also manage to shoot down one of the Northern Alliance's helicopters (they've only got five).

- The SAS get involved in a gun battle with the Taliban when they unexpectedly come across a Taliban patrol. We have not been told how many casualties there were (if any).

Well, I for one, have to say I'm not very impressed so far with the handling of this situation. It doesn't bode well for the future when we attempt full-scale involvement in Afghanistan and the Middle- East.

[TheThill]

It's a bit early to tell, don't you think?

[Monster104]

We haven't even BEGUN military ops yet, and you're not impressed??

We've started dispatching fleets and jet squadrons to the region...what's to be unimpressed about so far? That they're not blowing stuff up already? Yeah, because that's unreasonable.

Now, maybe in a couple weeks, or a month, or three months, you can tell us you're not satisfied. However, right now NOTHING of significance has happened in regards to responding military actions, so such a proclamation makes no sense.

[samclem]

xanakis said

It doesn't bode well for the future when we attempt full-scale involvement in Afghanistan and the Middle- East.

What! You have info that we are gonna do that! Jeez! I missed it. Where can I find out about it?

Also,

They send spy planes over Afghanistan one of which gets shot down by the Taliban

An unmanned drone gets shot down. Big whoop!

The SAS thing was rather disturbing, I'll give you.

[MysterEcks]

You think that's unimpressive, you shoulda seen how we got into World War II.

[Lok]

And according to this article, sources in the British defence ministry deny that SAS troops are in Afghanistan, although officially the defence ministry is not commenting.

[Wumpus]

(Warning: inapproriate historical comparisons ahead)

WAR WITH JAPAN CANCELLED DUE TO LOW RATINGS

January 27, 1942 - New York.

The United States' war with Japan has been cancelled due to poor ratings. Officials of the Mutual Broadcast System say that the war was just too long and confusing for listeners to follow.

"It seemed like a good idea at the start," said Mutual President Merton Gossage. "The Battle of Britain had already done so well overseas. The first week after Pearl Harbor, our ratings went right through the roof. But after that, things started to fall apart. Sure, there was all that bad news from the Pacific about that Japanese taking this and that territory. But on the American side, there was just a bunch of retreating and fumbling around, and endless talk about building war plants and training camps and rationing and other things that are about as interesting as watching paint dry. It's not like it's going to pick up soon--there doesn't seem to be any chance of actually striking back at the enemy for months to come. Who can blame people for getting tired of it all?

"And then there were all those people who died at the beginning--no one wants to be reminded of that unless they know the cavalry is just about to ride over the ridge and save the day once and for all. So we felt it was our best interest to cancel the war, and return to more cheerful programming."

Mutual says it will replace the war with additional episodes of Captain Midnight and the Jack Benny Show.

Meanwhile, the long-running war in Europe has been held over for a third year. However, officials in Berlin indicate that the developments in America may cause the European war to close sooner than anticipated.

[Beagle]

1) "War with Islam?" You got that right. This part of the conflict has already been mismanaged. "Crusade?" Bjeezus! What the hell were they thinking? Any first year college history student would intuitively know that word should have been avoided like the plague. Also, keep the religious references to a minimum, Please, G.W.B.? "Infinite Justice?" Not again, I guess "crusade" was not offensive and counterproductive enough. How about, "Operation Kill Terrorists?"

2) Not really a problem. It was one of those unmanned planes, that is why we use them, so human pilots don't get shot down by the AAA and SAMs. BUT, now we know where some of it is. As for the Northern Alliance helicopters, the U.S. will--I have a feeling--give them a lot more. Lend Lease revisited. No "lease" though.

3) I have only heard of a skirmish between the Northern Alliance and Taliban. Please give me a website discussing what you are talking about. I read the "article" which says the British deny any skirmish.

Generally, it is WAY to early to judge anything.

[techchick68]

As one that tries to think things through, one can make the assumption that the countries, especially the USA, is making calculated attempts to make the right decisions. None of the same crap that Bush Pa did -- hit and run -- and same with Clinton -- hit them with missiles then leave after knowing it didn't do anything but piss them off more.

This is a different arena we are involved in. This is not something that you jump and play with, this is something where you need to think of the right strategy to get those responsible. You can't go into a situation like this and start bombing, raiding and killing for the sake of revenge.

I for one think that this is NOT a "war" on Islamic peoples, this is a "war" on terrorists, plain and simple. Did they err in what Bush said? Sure but this is not about words, this is completely about who and what did this, not about offending a group of people as *those* people (the terrorists) are not true to the Qu'ran (sp). This is about a group of people who hate what we stand for, freedom.

Do I agree that we should be involved in a revenge type of assault? Hell Frickin No. I don't much like the idea that we have to "defend" what happened but it has to happen even if I am against violence as a means to end a problem.

But, given my own thoughts I do believe that caution and careful consideration need to be taken into effect. We can not go into this willy-nilly like a bully on a school ground. We must use discretion and be aware that what happens from here on out could mean the end of the world as we know it. From nuclear, to biological to chemical weapons, we are in a state of warfare that if we let this get out of control our world will forever be changed in the worst way possible.

So, as momma always said, "patience is a virtue." Screw this idea that we should just start a retaliation and finding those responsible without extreme understanding of what could become WWIII -- yes, the thing we have feared all our lives.

[clairobscur]

Originally posted by Lok
And according to this article, sources in the British defence ministry deny that SAS troops are in Afghanistan, although officially the defence ministry is not commenting.

Yes, but officially there were no troops in Kosovo, either, and various papers discussed about what these unexistant troops were doing exactly.

[Vinnie Virginslayer]

Originally posted by xanakis
Lets review what has been done thus far:

- They make a big song and dance about how this isn't a war on Islam and about not wanting to offend the Muslims. Then the very frist thing they do, before a single shot has been fired, is they name it "Operation Infinite Justice" which offends every single muslim in the entire world.

I'm sorry to hear that Muslims might be offended. I was kind of offended when I saw those airliners crash into the WTC. Trust me before this whole thing is over, more Muslims will be pissed off. At least we didn't name it "Operation Fuck Allah".

War is never politcally correct.

- They send spy planes over Afghanistan one of which gets shot down by the Taliban. The Taliban also manage to shoot down one of the Northern Alliance's helicopters (they've only got five).

The spy planes are unmanned, and compared to manned craft, easy to shoot down. I doubt the Northern Alliances collective lack of aerial skills reflects poorly on our own military. The Northern Alliance is basically a mickey mouse fighting force compared to the U.S.. The Taliban and Northen Alliance have been blowing each other up years before any of this ever happened.

- The SAS get involved in a gun battle with the Taliban when they unexpectedly come across a Taliban patrol. We have not been told how many casualties there were (if any)

.

Wait a minute, there was actually shooting??? If gun battles and casualties disturb you, then you will be in for a very, very big dissapointment ove the next few months and years.

Well, I for one, have to say I'm not very impressed so far with the handling of this situation. It doesn't bode well for the future when we attempt full-scale involvement in Afghanistan and the Middle- East.

Patience, grasshopper. Right now it's like being in the first inning of game one of the baseball season.

[Stoid]

Originally posted by Vinnie Virginslayer

I'm sorry to hear that Muslims might be offended. I was kind of offended when I saw those airliners crash into the WTC. Trust me before this whole thing is over, more Muslims will be pissed off. At least we didn't name it "Operation Fuck Allah".

Now Vinnie, this is no way to behave. American Muslims were just as offended by the WTC as you were, and I'm pretty certain some of them died in it.

There's no call to offend a billion people because a couple dozen people share a religion with them.

[Vinnie Virginslayer]

Originally posted by Stoid

Now Vinnie, this is no way to behave. American Muslims were just as offended by the WTC as you were, and I'm pretty certain some of them died in it.

There's no call to offend a billion people because a couple dozen people share a religion with them.

All right I take it back. Not sure how "Operation Infinite Justice" is offensive though. Maybe someone can give me an article?

[Occam]

A coupla optional names for this war I've heard so far are:

Bomb-a-Osama

Operation Slack-down-istan

Desert Storm 2.0

And my favorite, Who want's to kill a millionare?

[Occam]

SMACK SMACK SMACK Smack-down-istan.

[Menocchio]

Originally posted by Vinnie Virginslayer

All right I take it back. Not sure how "Operation Infinite Justice" is offensive though. Maybe someone can give me an article?

Can't look up the cite right now, but Muslims (and Christains too, for that matter), believe that there's only one being in the universe who can dish out Infinite Justice. And it ain't Colin Powell.

Even an atheist would have to admit, that's a silly name and chock full of hubris.

Other than naming, I have no complaints thus far. Slow and steady wins the race with minimal collateral damage.

[Lemur866]

About the SAS:

The Brits have fewer restrictions on keeping official secrets than we over here in the US do. Remember how they used to deny that MI6 even existed? Ah, those crazy Brits.

So I'm not surprised that they'd deny that the SAS did anything, or that the SAS even exists. "These aren't the droids you're looking for"

[Chez Guevara]

MI6 does not exist and its headquarters are not the building in London which says MI6 on the front door.

The SAS does not exist either, all 700 of them, and their headquarters are not in Herefordshire.

Please have some respect for the secrets of your allies.

[Smeghead]

I, for one, am glad that we haven't heard any reports of what we're doing over there, because it probably means that we're over there kicking ass and keeping good security on it. I have no problem with them doing stuff without telling me.