BREAKING: US and Allies hit ISIS targets in Syria. Bombing campaign begins.

[gunowner930]

I'm not saying it's simplistic at all. I said "it's not unreasonable to think.... " specifically because the one thing I'm sure about is that none of us really have any idea what is going on amongst different groups and what portion of the truth our government is telling us. It's hard enough to get an accurate news story reported on something that happens down the street. I don't believe we get even close to an accurate picture of what is happening in a culture very different from ours, and how we affect it.

The idea that we are going to just bomb our way out of it without creating bigger problems seems rather optimistic.

Such as? Syria and Iraq are both already hellholes that would be better off with Assad in charge of all of Syria and Saddam in control of Iraq. That ship has sailed. It appears that many of these ISIS "fighters" are cowardly thugs who have come from all over the world to be violent animals. That is why many of them have returned home. Seeing JDAMs dropped on their buddies won't help the cause of ISIS either. We could take out ISIS, but power vacuums in Iraq and Syria will be as wide open as they were with and before ISIS. So no real change, only thing we risk is losing aircraft and crew. I certainly don't want to lose any of our pilots, however I don't feel any sympathy for these ISIS vermin. Maybe just maybe, it will teach them that facing a western military is whole different animal than the Syrian and Iraqi armies.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

 

[Henry]

Why is President Romney bombing Syria?

Joe Biden 2012: If Romney Wins, We?ll Go To War In Syria

You say that as though you think there is a difference of any significance between the two wings of the party of the state.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

You say say that as though you think there is a difference of any significance between the two wings of the party of the state.

Well so far, everything Romney said was right, and everything the Left said has been wrong/a lie. Sort of wish people would see that.


Also..

Bush: "We're going fight Islamists for years."
Media: "BOOOOOO!"
Obama: "We're going to fight Islamists for Decades."
Media: "YAY! *swoon*"

 

[Dead Duck]

You say that as though you think there is a difference of any significance between the two wings of the party of the state.

Ya - But I'm sure you're now going to explain to us how this is all Lincolns' fault.....

 

[Henry]

Ya - But I'm sure you're now going to explain to us how this is all Lincolns' fault.....

Well, he was an imperialist of the highest order and held up by the sheep as one of the most bestest presidents ever. Just sayin'.

 

[Dead Duck]

Well, he was an imperialist of the highest order and held up by the sheep as one of the most bestest presidents ever. Just sayin'.

Baaaaa Baaaaa

 

[Henry]

Meh...you're the fan that brought it up.

 

[Dead Duck]

Meh...you're the fan that brought it up.

I just knew you couldn't resist.

 

[mrjarrell]

Salutes with a ****ing coffee in his hand.

Edit: CNN BREAKING: Key Al-Nusra Front leader Abu Yousef al-Turki killed in airstrikes, claims the group

Just saying....The president is under no obligation to even return a salute.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

You say that as though you think there is a difference of any significance between the two wings of the party of the state.

Lemme see,

Democrats, bombing Syria.

Republicans, did not bomb Syria.

Libertarians, want to invade Middle East with deer hunters from Terre Haute and "take care of these guys".

Funny, I see a difference.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Just saying....The president is under no obligation to even return a salute.

ARFCOM is all worked up about it too...

That said...if all I had were pictures to compare:

Top = I don't give a crap so I'm giving a 1/2 arsed salute because that's tradition

Bottom = Crap I'm holding my dog with what appears to be a pretty stiff head wind, but really need to salute so I'm going to at least try and make some eye contact to show my sincerity.

 

[ZombieApocolypse]

ARFCOM is all worked up about it too...

That said...if all I had were pictures to compare:

Top = I don't give a crap so I'm giving a 1/2 arsed salute because that's tradition

Bottom = Crap I'm holding my dog with what appears to be a pretty stiff head wind, but really need to salute so I'm going to at least try and make some eye contact to show my sincerity.

Do the pic of bush kissing the saudi prince next!

 

[jbombelli]

Lemme see,

Democrats, bombing Syria.

Republicans, did not bomb Syria.

Libertarians, want to invade Middle East with deer hunters from Terre Haute and "take care of these guys".

Funny, I see a difference.

I see a difference too.

Democrats .. half-assed measures that won't succeed...
Republicans ... no measures at all...
Libertarians... if you're going to do it, do it right....

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Melbourne terror shooting: Numan Haider 'planned to behead Victoria Police officers, drape bodies in IS flag'


A Nervous China Is 'Interested' In A Possible Role In The Fight Against ISIS

 

[ArcadiaGP]

ISIS has just killed a French hostage. Link incoming

http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/caliphate-soldiers-purportedly-kidnap-french-man/

 

[T.Lex]

Obviously, another human tragedy.

It is also worth remembering, perhaps, that modern "terrorism" effectively got its start in the Algerian War of independence from France. Before Black September, before the PIRA, before the PLO, there was the FLN - National Liberation Front - and its directed attacks against Algerian/French national civilians.

The tactic worked. Algerian nationals won and a template for the successful use of terrorism was created.

ETA:
More specifics on the victim:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29352537

Mr Gourdel was a mountain guide in the Mercantour national park north of the French city of Nice.
He had been organising treks through the Atlas Mountains of Morocco for some 20 years, AFP news agency reports.
Jund al-Khilafa (Soldiers of the Caliphate) pledged allegiance to IS on 14 September.
Until then it had been known as part of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which grew out of an Algerian militant group and is now active across North and parts of West Africa.

 

[OakRiver]

A Nervous China Is 'Interested' In A Possible Role In The Fight Against ISIS

Now that is an interesting development

Obviously, another human tragedy.

It is also worth remembering, perhaps, that modern "terrorism" effectively got its start in the Algerian War of independence from France. Before Black September, before the PIRA, before the PLO, there was the FLN - National Liberation Front - and its directed attacks against Algerian/French national civilians.

The tactic worked. Algerian nationals won and a template for the successful use of terrorism was created.

ETA:
More specifics on the victim:
BBC News - French hostage Herve Gourdel 'beheaded in Algeria'

That sort of ignores the history of the Irish struggle for independence, including Michael Collins setting up cells that were independent of each other and thus were harder for security forces to operate against.

 

[T.Lex]

That sort of ignores the history of the Irish struggle for independence, including Michael Collins setting up cells that were independent of each other and thus were harder for security forces to operate against.

haha My friend, I have a confession. I am not left handed. Nor was I ignoring that. (Hopefully you picked up on the PIRA reference rather than the IRA/IRB/Fenians. I've studied that portion of Irish history on and off since high school.)

(Apologies for the minor thread derailment.)

I discount the Irish efforts in this regard because I consider them a poor reflection of modern terrorism. They may represent a prototype for modern guerrilla organizations, but not terrorist groups. Mostly, they did not explicitly target civilians. Plus, their attacks were against British government structures.

Sure, most of us nowadays don't think of the post office (as in the Easter Uprising) as a military target, but 100+ years ago, it was an agency of British Monarchy. Other targets included the courthouse, which arguably might be an appropriate target, and a distillery, because... well... it is Ireland.

Perhaps most importantly, the violence those groups used did not succeed, at least not directly. It was more a matter of public opinion shifting.

In Algeria, there was a direct connection between the violence against civilians (the Pied-noirs) and the successful independence. France gave in to the terrorists. Which begat more terrorists.

 

[ViperJock]

If Obama was a republican, they wouldn't say a word. Democrats are just as guilty. Nobody cares when the law isn't followed if the president was in your party.

Except you have no proof of that since the Republican presidents DID go to congress so....

Jarrel you are technically correct in that Obama has 60days and he hasn't defined it as a war. But it is a war and thus he has violated the spirit of the law if not the law itself.

But you guys digress. The point is that the Republican congress most likely would have declared war had he asked but he plays political games and walks with one foot outside the law. Again.