en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/6330084 Comments by Caesar_Saladin http://original.antiwar.com/thomas-knapp/2015/12/06/an-american-guilt-trip-this-is-how-the-terrorists-win/#IDComment1005975557 Mowing your lawn isn't a big deal- but if you're mowing it 'suspiciously'.... ahhh, that's what sells magazines and gets news ratings. Mon, 7 Dec 2015 14:38:20 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/thomas-knapp/2015/12/06/an-american-guilt-trip-this-is-how-the-terrorists-win/#IDComment1005975557 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/06/italy-pm-no-thank-you-to-joining-isis-war/#IDComment1005939511 Maybe Italy will it have less problems with ISIS when it stops poking the hornet's nest. Might be something to take note of. Mon, 7 Dec 2015 05:47:24 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/06/italy-pm-no-thank-you-to-joining-isis-war/#IDComment1005939511 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/06/obama-urges-congress-to-authorize-isis-war/#IDComment1005939403 How about urge Congress to accept responsibility and make a formal Declaration of War. If the US is going to be embroiled in this even more, we might as well do it right and stop with these idiotic 'Authorizations of Force'. If Congress is forced to vote on it, we get their names and numbers on where they stand, and it gets the issue in front of the public and on the official record. If Congress is go gung-ho for this, it should be a slam-dun, right? Or.... is Obama afraid to go the legal route, knowing his plans might go down in flames when Congress realizes it works for the public and not for him. Mon, 7 Dec 2015 05:45:42 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/06/obama-urges-congress-to-authorize-isis-war/#IDComment1005939403 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/03/obama-no-boots-on-the-ground-just-meant-no-battalions/#IDComment1005674807 Mmmmmm okay- so exactly how many 100-man units will be deployed, and will these units all be drawn from the same military higher echelon? Can we expect to see the 82nd Airborne descend on ISIS after being written on the jump manifests in 100-man batches? Something smells fishy here, and it ain't the fish. Fri, 4 Dec 2015 07:43:55 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/03/obama-no-boots-on-the-ground-just-meant-no-battalions/#IDComment1005674807 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/27/putin-asks-france-for-map-of-syrias-anti-isis-rebels-to-avoid-bombing-them/#IDComment1005151123 This is as much, or more, a political move than a military expedient to save 'friendly' lives. Putin knows good and well France- nor anyone else- can come up with such a map, and the inability to do so is bound to be characterized as a lack of coordination and intelligence on the part of the US and associated forces. If we can't supply our target list to the Russians, what are WE using to determine targets? Putin, just by asking the question, has dealt a huge propaganda loss to 'The West'. Sun, 29 Nov 2015 17:21:28 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/27/putin-asks-france-for-map-of-syrias-anti-isis-rebels-to-avoid-bombing-them/#IDComment1005151123 http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/11/24/turkeys-stab-in-the-back/#IDComment1004827358 We didn't exactly discourage Saddam Hussein from rolling up into Kuwait, either- and look what we used that as a pretext for. Thu, 26 Nov 2015 01:21:54 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/11/24/turkeys-stab-in-the-back/#IDComment1004827358 http://original.antiwar.com/eric_schuler/2015/11/18/sober-observations-on-the-paris-attacks/#IDComment1004230182 What if ISIS started a war and nobody else showed up? It's tough to be a martyr when no one will shoot you. You might have to get a job and be productive. Fri, 20 Nov 2015 03:30:45 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/eric_schuler/2015/11/18/sober-observations-on-the-paris-attacks/#IDComment1004230182 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/19/prosecutor-paris-attack-mastermind-confirmed-killed/#IDComment1004229422 I believe I read another story that recounted how Abaaoud was confirmed dead in 2011. He's such a mastermind he rose from the grave to carry on his fight? INCONCEIVABLE ! Fri, 20 Nov 2015 03:20:40 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/19/prosecutor-paris-attack-mastermind-confirmed-killed/#IDComment1004229422 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/france-vows-to-continue-isis-war-without-mercy/#IDComment1003862076 As General Custer said in 'Little Big Man', "Nothing in this world is more surprising than the attack without mercy!" Tue, 17 Nov 2015 00:22:03 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/france-vows-to-continue-isis-war-without-mercy/#IDComment1003862076 http://original.antiwar.com/peter_van_buren/2015/11/15/paris-you-dont-want-to-read-this/#IDComment1003784088 I, too, believe we (collectively) are addressing the problem wrongly. The fly in the peace ointment, though, is that peace isn't immediately profitable and I doubt we'll ever see a politician running for office as the 'Peace President'. If only keeping us out of wars were as popular as getting us into them we'd see some change. Unfortunately, I also believe that as long as the fighting of our wars is done by volunteers and the burden not felt by the country at large it will be tolerated. As soon as Little Johnny is drafted after high school to go fight in some overseas hellhole of our own making, Mom and Pop are going to start getting upset- not to mention Little Johnny, who had plans to go to dance school that summer. As soon as gas prices go sky high (got to ration it so the troops can fight for our freedom, you know) and groceries start disappearing from shelves you'll see changes. But not now, not the way we're doing it. Mon, 16 Nov 2015 07:19:24 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/peter_van_buren/2015/11/15/paris-you-dont-want-to-read-this/#IDComment1003784088 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/white-house-isis-lacks-capability-to-attack-us/#IDComment1003783565 This REEKS of GWB's 'Bring it on' quip. ISIS lacks the capability to attack the US? Please- if I were a betting man I'd wager they could have something put together within days, if not hours, if they wanted to. I'm not so sure right now is the right time to be saying we're untouchable. I seem to remember another leader a few years back saying something about being untouchable. It went something like, "No enemy bomber can reach the Ruhr. If one reaches the Ruhr, my name is not Göring. You may call me Meyer." - Hermann Goering, 1939. Meyer, meet Barry. You two should have a lot to talk about. Mon, 16 Nov 2015 07:12:03 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/white-house-isis-lacks-capability-to-attack-us/#IDComment1003783565 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/08/years-into-scheme-pentagon-tries-to-use-russia-tensions-to-justify-new-nukes/#IDComment1003111843 I think that instead of buying new nuclear weapons, we should be trying to get more use out of the ones we already have. The thing is, exactly what is it about a 2015 40-megaton warhead that makes it perform better than, say, a 1980 40-megaton warhead? Just like our stocks of conventional bombs, shouldn't we try to use our older weapons first and get them out of the inventory to make room for more new ones? Sure, so everyone is looking toward the skies for missiles being launched- we could always go full Strangelove and send the B-52's in at treetop level. You know a pilot- a good pilot- can wing one of those babies in at treetop level.... frying chickens in the barn. And even if they spot a B-52 inbound, they couldn't track and chase down every refurbished F-105 Thunderchief screaming in, each with a nuke in its bomb bay. And let's not forget how easy it would be to just load up a delivery van and park it in a convenient spot for ground zero. Boom, indeed. We've got PLENTY of options when it comes to getting our money's worth out of our existing stocks of both nukes and older aircraft. ~~~~~ I am sick to death of hearing about 'upgrading' our nuclear weapons. They're useless for modern warfare, and dangerous to even possess- and they're made even more dangerous by those we entrust with their safeguarding and employment. Smash them- smash them all, now, and be rid of the problem. Tue, 10 Nov 2015 02:40:12 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/08/years-into-scheme-pentagon-tries-to-use-russia-tensions-to-justify-new-nukes/#IDComment1003111843 http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/11/05/who-downed-metrojet-flight-9268/#IDComment1002673106 Wasn't there "allegedly/reportedly" a stock of some 20,000 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles that somehow disappeared from Libya following our 'liberation' of that nation? Is it inconceivable that at least some of those might possibly maybe by accident have fallen into the hands of ISIS (or some other ne'er do well outfit, maybe one of ours) somewhere along the line? Fri, 6 Nov 2015 07:29:30 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/11/05/who-downed-metrojet-flight-9268/#IDComment1002673106 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/09/11/russian-shipments-of-air-defense-systems-to-syria-rile-israel/#IDComment994803913 Maybe Israel shouldn't be conducting air strike on Syrian targets then, huh? Sat, 12 Sep 2015 17:59:31 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/09/11/russian-shipments-of-air-defense-systems-to-syria-rile-israel/#IDComment994803913 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/09/11/obama-warns-russia-backing-syria-against-isis-doomed-to-failure/#IDComment994803742 So, okay, Russian support for Syria against ISIS is doomed.... so what are WE doing fighting ISIS? Aren't our efforts doomed to failure as well? If someone wants to jump and help take down ISIS, I say let them have a bash at it. The hypocrisy of the USG foreign policy is staggering. Sat, 12 Sep 2015 17:58:04 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/09/11/obama-warns-russia-backing-syria-against-isis-doomed-to-failure/#IDComment994803742 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/08/14/pentagon-seeks-more-funds-for-sustained-war-with-russia/#IDComment990738517 Okay, so let's assume their conventional forces are sub-par and won't hold the line. Let's also assume they don't see the necessary build-up of our own conventional forces in Europe necessary for such an attack. Let's also assume Europe goes all in with us instead of avoiding another devastating war in their backyard. Now, let's assume US forces enter Russia and have their army and air force on the run. We already know our own combat forces require a huge logistical train to keep even a small amount of combat troops engaged.... Enter Russian nuclear weapons, used on their own soil, to destroy that logistical train leaving US forces at the front essentially cut off. Can we keep an army in the field supplied by air alone? Ask Field Marshall von Paulus about that; I'm sure Stalingrad taught him a few things about air supply. And what if Moscow decides to sacrifice some of its own forces to get at our front-line troops with those nukes? Oh there's plenty the Russians can do to stop any invasion in its tracks. Sun, 16 Aug 2015 23:12:26 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/08/14/pentagon-seeks-more-funds-for-sustained-war-with-russia/#IDComment990738517 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/08/07/iaea-wont-give-us-congress-confidential-docs-on-iran-deal/#IDComment989634440 If that's the case, then Congress should be fine with the IAEA giving Iran the classified info on our nuclear program safeguards and protocols. Surely they'll want to do the right and fair thing. Sun, 9 Aug 2015 23:05:48 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/2015/08/07/iaea-wont-give-us-congress-confidential-docs-on-iran-deal/#IDComment989634440 http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-70-year-nuclear-explosions-not-done-yet/#IDComment989357269 One's name does not indicate their race. So sorry, try again- but use a different kind of victim card next time. Fri, 7 Aug 2015 21:50:34 +0000 http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-70-year-nuclear-explosions-not-done-yet/#IDComment989357269 http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-70-year-nuclear-explosions-not-done-yet/#IDComment989355954 So, looking at the same principle, you'd say....? "Were all American civilians innocent in their country's aggression in the Middle East? I doubt it! So many of them were seen publicly supporting their army and celebrating each and every one of its victories. So was it so unfair that they paid a little bit for the heinous crimes their country committed? No, not a bit ! See how the American remember 9/11? Have they said a word about the tremendous sufferings they brought to people around the world prior to that?! Until they do and apologize to all the victims, I'd calmly tell them: you deserved it!" Fri, 7 Aug 2015 21:39:41 +0000 http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-70-year-nuclear-explosions-not-done-yet/#IDComment989355954 http://original.antiwar.com/lucy/2015/07/29/perfect-american-nuclear-horror/#IDComment988108040 Many years ago I happened on a film titled "Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie". It was a collection of footage of the various US nuclear tests ranging from the Trinity site through the Pacific and Atlantic tests in the 60's, and it included some footage of Soviet and Chinese tests as well. I confess I sat there in awe of the power- and yes, beauty- of these weapons; the various shapes of the mushroom clouds and the colors produced were simply amazing. Of course it was all helped along by the narration of William Shatner and restoration on some of the film by some of the best effects men in the industry. I sat and watched all this- about two hours of nearly non-stop detonations over land, and sea, airborne, underwater, and even some of the space detonations- and while the destructive power was described there was relatively little footage of the human cost of the two bombs we delivered to the Japanese. As a military veteran I was very thankful that we never had to fight that kind of war- but at the same time I am very afraid that because the human cost of such weapons has been locked away and downplayed by many, we may be doomed to fight that war anyway. Maybe not today or tomorrow, or next year- but some day someone is going to feel they have no choice but to launch those missiles and we're all going to be in the sequel to that movie. That is, if anyone is left to make it and watch it. Fri, 31 Jul 2015 02:33:12 +0000 http://original.antiwar.com/lucy/2015/07/29/perfect-american-nuclear-horror/#IDComment988108040