Ralph Peters today in USA today

[OldMercsRule]

The article is titled: "The Roots of Today's Wars

I lack the skill of Tree or Capt'n or !386 but here is the cite:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/the_roots_of_to.html

The article is interesting: prima facia, n' not necessarily political; that said: like anything it could be. Very Good Read, n' the ol' brain cell is still ponderin' what ta say!8)

 

[crunch]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I read the article twice and all of the comments once.... It pretty much goes along what you and a number of other posters here, including myself have been saying all along. This is a war, probably WWIII, that pits the civilized world against a tribal, Religiously driven enemy, that will show no quarter, shun no atrocity.

As abhorrent as all out warfare is, with the inevitable civilian casualties, most people in this kinder, gentler society we live in would rather look the other way than face the facts.

The fact is there is a significant percentage of a Religion numbering around a billion that want to see us dead, and are willing to give their own lives to advance that goal.

Whether we face it now while the enemy is still conventional, or wait until it has Nuclear capability is the real question. With the actions of our present Congress to guide me, I foresee millions of American dead before the truth sinks in.

 

[ricksrster]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

the Saxons make war on the Britons because the Saxons are Saxons and the Britons are Britons. The Danes make war on the Saxons and the Romans make war on the Franks and Germans for the same reason.

The article is true. It is the worlds history. Iraelites against the Canaanites. Egyptians against the Hittites.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I could not find one point I disagree with......
We can muck about, but in the end we will have smite all that oppose us..........
A crushing defeat ala Germany & Japan is the only true answer, imho.....

 

[crunch]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I could not find one point I disagree with......
We can muck about, but in the end we will have smite all that oppose us..........
A crushing defeat ala Germany & Japan is the only true answer, imho.....

You forgot to add... Dubya is a dummy.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I think that he has good intentions.....
He just makes bad decisions......

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I have to agree with your comments (every one so far). Peters is a thinker, (n' no Bush fan either). That is why I hope HE IS WRONG. If Iraq can be cobbled together we will not have to send lots o' the believers to their maker. He is probably right though IMHO. JR

 

[crunch]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

Or maybe.... just maybe, knows more than you or I? Just a possibility I say.

That said, I just wonder how in the sand our leaders heads really are?.. not Congress, I know where they are, but the current Administration. Notice the troop build up, the closer of the Iran and Syrian borders.... the new Battle group in the Gulf.

Any idea of what 2 Battle groups can do?... I mean really!

Maybe Dummy isn't really a dummy.

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

Me thinks he is obviously no dummy, (sorry me Bro). JR

 

[crunch]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

If Iraq can be cobbled together we will not have to send lots o' the believers to their maker.

Iran would love to have Iraq as a staging ground for their further advance and ambitions, but even if we win there, that ain't the end by a far piece.

This war will most likely out live both you and I... and maybe even our children. (WWIII, not Iraq)

As long as there is a power in this world that insists on becoming the only power, and is willing to advance their cause by any means, there will be war. Islam by it's very nature and teachings can not coexist with the Western world... something has to give... and it will.

 

[jinx]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I am afraid things will be very dark indeed before all this is over.

The opposing tribe, however, is not without potentially fatal flaws.

The fundamentalist ideology that has dominated Islamic actions of late are counter to the desires of most humans--even those of the Islamic faith.

Further there exists a deep and apparently unbridgeable divide between the Shia and Sunni sects that could unhinge them.

Islam is so widespread that there is a potential for ethnic groups to want to be the dominate player in the Islamic world. Certainly the bombers in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi had little regard for the murder of their African brothers.

Lastly, the isolation of radical Islam has cut it off from the rest of the world. Fewer texts of all types are translated into Arabic and distributed in the Arab world than are distributed in the single country of Spain.

Of course, whether we will overcome our own weaknesses and find our own resolve remain to be seen. It could be that the catalyst that sets our determination will be very violent and costly indeed.

Jinx

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I'll buy that ....
I'd wager that true Arabs don't give a rat's patoot if Indonesians are Muslim....
Well, they will as long as it bolsters their numbers & pushes their agenda......
I'd be willing to say that those who are not the 'True Blood' of Mecca are just pawns of the struggle.....

 

[crunch]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

That's my fear jinx.

Just like the days leading up to WWII, our comfortable, nothing can hurt us 'TUDE, might just bring reality so close to our face we will smell it.

Our Congress is focused on their own chances for power in 2008 and can't see the forest for the trees, and has no eye for National Security.... just a validation of their own hubris.

Islam, as a whole is divided for now, but when push comes to shove, they will unite, and fight over the spoils after our retreat.... and demise.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not all doom and gloom..... I just feel that the giant is asleep right now, and it will take a real “Wake Up Call” before we get our act together and address what is important... not how many times Brittany has been in rehab, where Anna Nichol will be buried and who gets the money, or whether Scooter lied about a non-issue.

The sooner the better.... lives are at stake, whether we, as a whole, believe it or not.

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

Wow some sober stuff here guys, (hard for me to dissagree with any of you). Col. Peters is a very sharp military historian who knows his stuff, n' I have read for years. Daniel Pipes, Bernard Lewis, Robert Spencer, Kenneth Timmerman, Tom Friedman, Bill Gertz, n' Christopher Hitchens are others of note with lots o' knowledge from all over the spectrum, (there is a lot of 'em, [I only mentioned a few], who know the Middle East, the Military n' Islam), n' they have shaped my somewhat pessimistic views since 9/11 when I woke up n' smelled the coffee n' engaged the ol' brain cell to try to understand the magnitude of the challange we all face. That includes American Muslims too. If we can stand Iraq up, and or the Religion o' Peace can force it's own modernization (from within, not something we can do), we may partially dodge the frieght train headed our way. It will take resolve and nearly half of our Country considers it a badge of honor to renounce a previous vote to go to war, and profit politically from ALL OF OUR STRUGGLE with train headed our way. Respectfully, (and I mean it to all, [our Muslim iboats brothers as well]) JR

 

[steve201]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

But the sad part is that members of the govmnt wants one of those nice clean victories to send home too and don't realize the cruelty of this war...as stated in the article...we're dealing with a people that is willing to die for a religious cause to promote thier own version of a religion as brutal as anything we've seen in our short history....These people are not only fanatical but driven by a belief that anyone not of the faith is an infidel and should be destroyed....the sooner the bone heads in the upper govnmt get that...the sooner we can hopefully bring people home....but that's just mho...I think we've entered a new era in warfare that will require us, the civilized world to be as brutal or more so than ever before!!....I wish I was wrong in my beliefs but I feel that isn't the case.....

 

[jinx]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

I travelled in Turkey fairly extensively in the early 80's. At that time I found them to be a very hospitable people and practicing that tenet of Islam to welcome the stranger.

Worldwide, and not just in Islam, there has been a radicalizing (maybe a poor word choice there) of beliefs. Certainly is is true in the Islamic world.

Hopefully, we as a race will remember that we are all "children of Abraham" and not try to anihilate one another.

That being said, last year I asked for advice on buying a birthday boat for my middle son--a hard worker and a good kid. An extravagant present to be sure, but I want him to have a good chance to be a kid and enjoy his time as a teenager. Lord knows what the future holds as he gains his manhood.

To introduce some levity in this rather depressing thread. Here he is on his birthday last year. Ignore the old goat in the bow.

Jinx

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

Hey Jinx, Turkey is one of those countries that gives all of us hope, or at least many of us hope that Islam can modernize n' deal with their own. Great shot. Do they require life jackets in your State? JR

 

[jinx]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

JR: Yep, I require them anyway. Only one that doesn't have one is the dog....

Jinx

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

JR: Yep, I require them anyway. Only one that doesn't have one is the dog....

Jinx

I used to require 'em when the kids were small and before they turned into fishes, after that point I just made sure they were in the boat. Washington does not require an adult to wear one, (last time I checked anyhooo). JR

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Ralph Peters today in USA today

tactical nukes