[QUOTE=alphaboi867]
True, but would you rather have Bush fuck up the US and Iraq or just Iraq?
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Is that still a choice?
[QUOTE=Hamlet]
A majority of those three are being done by Iraqis and terrorists and not the US government. And none, as far as I know, are policies of the government.
Our government, and the government of the Iraqis, should lead by example. Decreasing unemployment, rebuilding the infrastructure, adding more freedoms not less, iliminating corruption (which is, I think, the major unspoken problem in Iraq), and offering hope. What you are suggesting appears to be simply a return to Iraq under Saddam, where there is less bombing, torture, murder, and more security, but with limited freedom and no democracy. Freedom and democracy come at a severe price, especially when forced upon a country that is not ready for it. It’s something the brain dead idiots in this administration ignored and now the Iraqis are paying the price for our idiot’s mistakes. But totalitarianism, even by a “benevolent” government, is not the solution.
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I do not envision these as permanent long term solutions. Some are short term solutions designed to solve immediately problems (public nudity to make sneak attacks harder). I’m all for democracy and freedom, but I think we’re going to have to get a handle on all the killing and so forth first.
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
Hey, if you really want to think outside the box in the Middle East, simply abolish (or cease to recognize) all national borders. They were just drawn up by colonials, anyway, with little regard for the ethnic groupings. Let new lines be drawn, some border skirmishes fought and when the dust settles ten years from now, there might be something resembling a workable new set of modern nation-states in the area.
Meantime, push for more nuclear power in the U.S. and hybrid cars and such.
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Sounds like a plan, but can we eliminate other people’s borders by fiat? Isn’t that kinda unilateral? Pretty close to invasion, isn’t it?
Okay. I have an out-of-the-box idea.
Your average group of soldiers has, say, a nine-month tour of duty in Iraq. Make the first month a mandatory intensive course in Iraqi Arabic so that the U.S. would not have to rely on interpreters as much (and would be better able to check up on them). Their second tour of duty would include a refresher course in Arabic and a basic course in Kurdish. Imagine the difference in efficacy if 100% of the soldiers had some way to communicate directly with Iraqis. Plus, this is a good long-term investment, as the Middle East is unlikely to settle down in our lifetimes. A bonus would be a one-day workshop on the history of Islam.
Second, some really obvious high-profile Peace Corps-style projects are needed. How about we build some schools and hospitals and really equip them? Import highly trained and educated staff from friendly & sane Muslim nations. (I realize there are highly trained and educated Iraqis, but I think it better to import for now.) And how about a women’s college?
Third, we publicly renounce any claim to Iraqi oil, and remove Halliburton. This is not to appease the left (though that might be a fringe benefit). Removing private businesses and the apparent financial incentive increases the perceived legitimacy of the military occupation in Iraq and internationally.
Fourth, I actually agree with the OP that the sexual mores of the Middle Eastern Muslim nations leads to an excess of young men with an excess of, er, energy. So: exchange programs. Interested single Iraqi males between the ages of 17 and 25 would be eligible to work or study (their choice) in the U.S. and whatever other nation agrees to host. Split them up, and of course, from their perspective, what happens in Lithuania stays in Lithuania. A little perspective an international experience would help a lot. (If our budget is unlimited, I think we should include women as well, but I’m focusing on the problem demographic.)
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
Sounds like a plan, but can we eliminate other people’s borders by fiat? Isn’t that kinda unilateral? Pretty close to invasion, isn’t it?
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Nah, just say “those borders are crap. We no longer recognize or trade with any pseudo-nation claiming to adhere to them.”
Think of all the money you’d save on bondage collars.
what a jerk
I seams to remember that your country was the one who invade that country and cause the blood bath we have seen the last 3 years
And your stupid regime where warned several time not to invade Iraq by most of the world