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11-28-2009, 01:33 AM | #10501 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
|
Billy Waugh wrote a really interesting Autobiography: "Hunting the Jackal". It's worth your time.
And yeah, it was President Clinton's administration that denied approval to kill Bin Laden.
__________________
Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
11-28-2009, 02:48 AM | #10502 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
|
Quote:
The immediate militant roots of the current guard in the Islamic terrorist community can probably be traced to the Cold War. Many of their leaders rose to prominence during the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, fighting against the invaders. At the time, the United States and other NATO countries funneled men, weapons, and training into fundamentalist Islamic militias based in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, as they fought a "proxy war" against the Soviet Union. Many of those US and NATO-backed mujahideen, including Osama Bin Laden and Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani (founder of Abu Sayyaf, who traveled all the way from the Philippines to help defend Afghanistan against the Soviets), would eventually become regional warlords (with help from the equipment and training they received from the West) and form a loose terrorist network that would eventually evolve into Al-Qaeda. In hindsight, funding and training the mujahideen was a successful but short-sighted strategy fraught with dangers, whose long-term effects we in the West are only experiencing now. In my mind, the strategy was the result of a single-minded, almost paranoid fear of Soviet expansionism, a fear that led to policy-makers and military commanders putting on blinders with regards to potential future threats. Additionally, it wasn't just the Soviets who suffered from excess hubris and underestimated the resolve of the Islamists. The Western powers treated the mujahideen as fodder for their "proxy war" against the Soviet Union, not once thinking that men capable of such fervor-fueled violence placed in positions of command and power would eventually pose a danger to everybody, not just the invading Soviets. But such speculation raises more questions: had the West not empowered the mujahideen, would the Soviet Union have conquered Afghanistan and used it as a platform for expansion into the Middle East? Would a successful incursion into Afghanistan prevented the collapse of the Soviet Union and worldwide communism in the early 1990s? Are we better off now than we would have been had the Soviet Union indeed gained a foothold in the Middle East? I'd like to imagine that the events of the past decade have led NATO policy-makers and commanders to weigh their decisions thinking about future repercussions, and not just immediate fallout. Indeed, the decision to support political and ideological moderates in the start-up governments in Iraq and Afghanistan seems to be a step in the right direction (although we have to remember, at one time, Saddam Hussein was an ideological and political moderate, too, with the full backing of the US government... and look where that ended up). |
11-28-2009, 04:16 AM | #10503 |
80's Civil Air Patrol Cdt
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Wichita, The Air Capital of the World
Posts: 678
|
I just finished the 1050 pages tonite. Does that mean Im now the 2nd Fire Team Leader of FCS-D (FileCard Secrets-Discussion) Charlie Company/1st Platoon/Hotel Squad? :-D
Also, Tonite I finally found and bought the Snarler cycle with Beachhead & "Airborne" and also a desert ambush Scarlett. I will use the PIT Scarlett as Sergeant Carol "Zarana" Weebler, aka Jennifer K Larson, because of her awkward face. Yet again the a-suit, dont want to collect them all. But this female A-suit motorcycle driver, I will be picking her up for the backseat of the RHINO helo unit. Who knows maybe there can be a way to dock the Cycle to the RHINO. I think she will be Scarlett in the A-suit, Head-Switch the Baroness' head and call her Mayday. If the switch doesnt work I can always put the Baroness' head back on Covergirl. The only problem with marathon reading you forget stuff, like when or where it is and who had the Slipstream idea with ROC Breaker? What body did you use and how did that fit work out? Where & who is involved with this pre-ROC Ripcord/freefall 7-pack that I keep hearing about? I love Sergeant Stone as a Marine, hoping to make a second squad of marines and he will be squad leader. [thanks oliverbox] Just need another 5-pack of joes from TRU to have better uniforms and to make the squad from. Funny how tonite for Thanksgiving, we got on the subject of Para-rescue. My sister was egging on my Air Force cousin, "What a unit of nurses dropping in behind enemy lines? Doesnt sound too intimidating". My maroon beret TRU SRO Stone will be Lifeline. He will still have a religious upbringing, but he will be in the fight.
__________________
Cobra's got the Delta Station, They're plantin' cubes throughout creation. If we don't start RETALIATION, We're sunk and that's no bunk. -Roadblock, in Pyramid of Darkness miniseries. Last edited by takedown; 11-29-2009 at 01:00 AM.. |
11-28-2009, 06:44 AM | #10504 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,294
|
Congrats on getting through all the pages in the thread, we should have a T-shirt printed for all the brave souls who've read the entire block as well as one to commerorate the original thread contributors. One thing, I think is very apparent is the drop off. There've been a few Tankers who posted early on and then dropped off which is a real shame.
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11-28-2009, 07:28 AM | #10505 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 590
|
I know I am one of the ones who dropped off. LOL.
I check the site daily. I just read through the threads @ work. Which I'm not supposed to do. |
11-28-2009, 08:47 AM | #10506 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 82
|
Quote:
Mattel's Rescue Heroes have a character named "Al Pine". He is the cold weather specialist.
The whole Rescue Heroes line has characters with names related to what they do, ie: Billy Blazes = firefighter, Rocky Canyon = mountain climber, Jake Justice = police officer, Dewey Seeum "Do we see 'em?" = jungle/swamp specialist, Jack Hammer = Construction See & I thought they got their names from porn stars Wendy waters, Billy Blazes, Kenny Ride ETC. The thing I liked was the Snow Job was trained to use a Laser Rifle |
11-28-2009, 09:31 AM | #10507 |
Crimson lady of the Guard
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Somewhere out there
Posts: 13,754
|
I love reading this thread.
__________________
My feedback Thread http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...tml#post642922 (PLEASE READ MY WANTS LIST, any help finding these items would be wonderful) My wants list http://www.hisstank.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36991 |
11-28-2009, 01:47 PM | #10508 |
#voteblackjack
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northwood, NH
Posts: 35,747
|
Quote:
Well, from a historical perspective, and side-stepping any political agendas or the whole "Left vs. Right" mentality that threatens any of these discourses, I'd say that killing Bin Laden would be a stopgap solution at best to the problem of radical Islamists waging war on the West. The terrorist network, as it stands right now and as it was composed a decade ago, is de-centralized to the point that eliminating a single node (even one as significant as Bin Laden, and the argument can be made that he's a relatively minor player these days) would be a temporary victory in the ongoing battle against religion-based organized terrorism. There are too many people waiting in the wings to take his place.
The immediate militant roots of the current guard in the Islamic terrorist community can probably be traced to the Cold War. Many of their leaders rose to prominence during the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, fighting against the invaders. At the time, the United States and other NATO countries funneled men, weapons, and training into fundamentalist Islamic militias based in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, as they fought a "proxy war" against the Soviet Union. Many of those US and NATO-backed mujahideen, including Osama Bin Laden and Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani (founder of Abu Sayyaf, who traveled all the way from the Philippines to help defend Afghanistan against the Soviets), would eventually become regional warlords (with help from the equipment and training they received from the West) and form a loose terrorist network that would eventually evolve into Al-Qaeda. In hindsight, funding and training the mujahideen was a successful but short-sighted strategy fraught with dangers, whose long-term effects we in the West are only experiencing now. In my mind, the strategy was the result of a single-minded, almost paranoid fear of Soviet expansionism, a fear that led to policy-makers and military commanders putting on blinders with regards to potential future threats. Additionally, it wasn't just the Soviets who suffered from excess hubris and underestimated the resolve of the Islamists. The Western powers treated the mujahideen as fodder for their "proxy war" against the Soviet Union, not once thinking that men capable of such fervor-fueled violence placed in positions of command and power would eventually pose a danger to everybody, not just the invading Soviets. But such speculation raises more questions: had the West not empowered the mujahideen, would the Soviet Union have conquered Afghanistan and used it as a platform for expansion into the Middle East? Would a successful incursion into Afghanistan prevented the collapse of the Soviet Union and worldwide communism in the early 1990s? Are we better off now than we would have been had the Soviet Union indeed gained a foothold in the Middle East? I'd like to imagine that the events of the past decade have led NATO policy-makers and commanders to weigh their decisions thinking about future repercussions, and not just immediate fallout. Indeed, the decision to support political and ideological moderates in the start-up governments in Iraq and Afghanistan seems to be a step in the right direction (although we have to remember, at one time, Saddam Hussein was an ideological and political moderate, too, with the full backing of the US government... and look where that ended up). That's an interesting analysis Zulu. I wonder what would have happened if the Soviets had taken over Afghanistan and some of the Middle East. The one benefit of the Cold War was the MAD idea, mutually assured destruction. The idea that if we launched Nukes, they'd launch Nuke and we'd end up killing eachother. I wonder if that would have been the best for the world, if that had kept going. Two superpowers in a stalemate. hhhhmm...
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Join the New England G.I. Joe Collector's Group: Battleforce New England Join the March of Cobra. Read the epic adventure on Kindle Worlds and visit the page to learn more. https://www.facebook.com/marchofcobra/ |
11-28-2009, 01:51 PM | #10509 |
#voteblackjack
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northwood, NH
Posts: 35,747
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Lol, I hope he set her straight.
__________________
Join the New England G.I. Joe Collector's Group: Battleforce New England Join the March of Cobra. Read the epic adventure on Kindle Worlds and visit the page to learn more. https://www.facebook.com/marchofcobra/ |
11-28-2009, 05:15 PM | #10510 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
|
Yeah. I grew up in the frontline of the proxy war between the US and NATO-backed government forces and the China and Soviet Union-backed communist insurgency of the Philippines. For the most part, both sides were just as bad as the other when it came to avoiding civilian casualties and following rules of engagement. In fact, both sides routinely killed civilians in their own terror campaigns.
That's the thing about the Cold War. In the US and her allies' zeal to stamp out the worldwide rise of communism, they ended up supporting avowed "anti-communists" who were just as bad as their communist and socialist counterparts: religious nutjobs (the mujahideen), neo-fascists (Augusto Pinochet and Ferdinand Marcos), extreme right-wing ultra-nationalists (Saddam Hussein), and criminals-turned-warlords (Manuel Noriega). In some cases, the US and NATO have managed to redress those lapses in judgment (Noriega's arrest once his drug trafficking activities became too blatant to ignore, for instance). But in many other cases, it was the civilian populations of their allies' countries that had to live with the repercussions of the proxy war, and I think that explains, at least partially, some of the anti-US and anti-Western sentiment found in the developing world today. I'm sure if the Soviet Union still existed, there would be a lot of anti-Soviet reprisals going on as well, borne out of their own actions during the Cold War (and a lot of the internal violence in the Russian Federation these days are probably directly linked to the activities of the former Soviet Union). |
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