tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post7419001773191262542..comments2024-03-28T17:44:07.653+00:00Comments on TPQ: Why I'm Not A MuslimAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-78822488156307851492021-08-20T19:05:28.145+01:002021-08-20T19:05:28.145+01:00LolLolMickOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06278524870773217698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-48660751387791122182021-08-20T16:39:46.975+01:002021-08-20T16:39:46.975+01:00To my eye you contradict yourself there. I take it...To my eye you contradict yourself there. I take it you think Iraq was unjustified because of the sexed up dossiers? Yet a whistleblower from the opcw said similar tactics were used in Syria, what's the difference?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14120277877011965034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-48698160227045571312021-08-20T14:08:45.030+01:002021-08-20T14:08:45.030+01:00Barry,
Are you smoking or sniffing hopium?Barry,<br /><br />Are you smoking or sniffing <a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/hopium/" rel="nofollow"> hopium</a>? frankiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452424095829736700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-78072279670554675622021-08-20T06:50:14.093+01:002021-08-20T06:50:14.093+01:00there is nothing in principle wrong with humanitar...there is nothing in principle wrong with humanitarian intervention - it has just that intervention by the US has never been done on humanitarian grounds. Tanzania did it as did Vietnam - but not the US. If it ever puts up a protective shield to protect Palestinian civilians from Israeli atrocity, I would be willing to reconsider my view of it. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-52946133968771532472021-08-20T06:49:16.732+01:002021-08-20T06:49:16.732+01:00Watching Michael Malice on a podcast and he reckon...Watching Michael Malice on a podcast and he reckons half the global population is under authoritarian rule. Don't know if that's an accurate number, if so, that would be roughly 3.9 billion people. Not find it suspicious that the only people the west 'help' are of a strategic or economic benefit to them.<br /> Afghanistan was never about the emancipation of women, to say Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14120277877011965034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-21601244339287455252021-08-20T01:57:15.415+01:002021-08-20T01:57:15.415+01:00Barry,
There's also a lot to be said regardin...Barry,<br /><br />There's also a lot to be said regarding the sheer indoctrination of US schoolkids into patriotism. I have some good US friends but Holy Hades do they buy the party line. That's fascism by stealth.<br /><br />But I'd still rather a Yank beside me than a Jihadi in front. Steve Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670990166576346966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-59485702079913207022021-08-20T00:42:41.626+01:002021-08-20T00:42:41.626+01:00There are times when intervention is not justified...There are times when intervention is not justified e.g. Iraq 2003. There are times when it is justified and can be done successfully e.g. Northern Iraq 1991; Kosovo 1999; Sierra Leone if there are clear objectives, no mission creep and an exit strategy. There are times when it is justified but fails in the long run because of the absence of long-term objectives e.g. Afghanistan 2001 and Libya Barry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-39009704734324986192021-08-19T22:09:29.847+01:002021-08-19T22:09:29.847+01:00Barry - there was never going to be a right tome t...Barry - there was never going to be a right tome to withdraw because there was never a right time to invade. There is no such thing as US humanitarian intervention. If there was it would have been applied in Rwanda. Biden can't be faulted for withdrawing even if the way it was handled was a fiasco. <br />Women were treated terribly In Afghanistan prior to the Taliban return: The report <b>I AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-30213985617463625512021-08-19T18:18:34.963+01:002021-08-19T18:18:34.963+01:00Actually, David, Biden was rightfully excoriated i...Actually, David, Biden was rightfully excoriated in the House of Commons yesterday for prematurely withdrawing US air cover for NATO forces in Afghanistan and taking no responsibility for the consequences. He really did go down in my estimation.<br /><br />Yes, it was Trump's treacherous deal with the Taliban that Biden was saddled with but there was a window to ensure a more orderly drawingBarry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-76481957633609415892021-08-19T08:23:46.975+01:002021-08-19T08:23:46.975+01:00it was short and I did look at it - sort of tells ...it was short and I did look at it - sort of tells us what we need to know about US decision making AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-68400673919550592402021-08-19T07:37:21.613+01:002021-08-19T07:37:21.613+01:00Hitchens got so much wrong about Afghanistan and I...Hitchens got so much wrong about Afghanistan and Iraq. He supported the war of terror rather than the war on terror. <br />Benn is right about the need to defeat fascism - such a pity he supported the invasion of Iraq and Libya. And we are still waiting on Starmer demanding Blair's prosecution for war crimes. <br />America has been a serious sponsor of fascism in the world. This is why peopleAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-17768992308145718972021-08-19T00:10:55.757+01:002021-08-19T00:10:55.757+01:00As Christopher Hitchens said, the policy adopted b...As Christopher Hitchens said, the policy adopted by the United States in relation to Afghanistan in the 1980s made striking against Al-Queda all the more of an imperative. <br /><br />far right (cos that is what it is )Islamist extremism like far white extremism and Incel type misogyny are forms of fascism and, as Hilary Benn argued in the Commons during the ISIS debate in 2015, the lesson of Barry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-84688609673324832062021-08-18T23:16:13.817+01:002021-08-18T23:16:13.817+01:00This is a clip from retired US Marine general Wes ...This is a clip from retired US Marine general Wes Clark, Anthony I know you seldom open clips but it is interesting regarding US military actions in the Middle East.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWs4TFSjrYSteve Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670990166576346966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-10008468699762441552021-08-18T17:44:14.981+01:002021-08-18T17:44:14.981+01:00All the Taliban's early leaders had fought aga...All the Taliban's early leaders had fought against the Soviets. The US armed and financed them through the Pakistani Intelligence Service. The US helped create them and did nothing to discourage the thug who hanged Bhutto from being their primary patron. In fact Kissinger threatened Bhutto that he would meet a terrible end if he continued with the nuclear programme. Zia was the US man and hisAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-46469189817853938242021-08-18T17:17:55.038+01:002021-08-18T17:17:55.038+01:00It still baffles me that people think the US Empir...It still baffles me that people think the US Empire is somehow morally superior to past empires. It also highlights the partisan theatre that is politics, the people defending Biden would have been howling if Trump was in charge, they are all scumbags. Invading Afghanistan was never going to end any other way, what good was twenty years of rights for women? How they going to utilise them under Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14120277877011965034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-48982890987446345112021-08-18T16:46:30.684+01:002021-08-18T16:46:30.684+01:00The Taliban were set up by the Pakistani ISI in th...The Taliban were set up by the Pakistani ISI in the 1990s after the Soviet departure in order to serve its geopolitical interests.<br /><br />No matter the inconsistencies and mistakes in US foreign policy; the original intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 was the right and legal thing to do (unlike the Iraq intervention in 2003). It was Bin laden who declared a global fatwa against Americans andBarry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-41330672193715656812021-08-18T15:40:41.996+01:002021-08-18T15:40:41.996+01:00The Taliban are a shower of theocratic gangsters. ...The Taliban are a shower of theocratic gangsters. But the US helped bring them to power through its geo politics in the region when the Russians invaded. And the US is fine with theocratic gangsters - hence its attitude to the Saudis. Nor does it give a toss about human rights given its endorsement and arming of Israel. As for it being right and proper to eradicate the Al Qaeda infrastructure, AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-55269056828511735202021-08-18T15:05:56.367+01:002021-08-18T15:05:56.367+01:00The US was attacked so it had a legitimate right t...The US was attacked so it had a legitimate right to self-defence under the UN Charter and MATO Article 5. Humanitarian intervention was not the causus belli although the Tal1ban's femicide, ethnic cleansing of the Hazara minority and the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas provides retrospective justification under the UN Responsibility to Protect.<br /><br />It was right and [proper to Barry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-51172526089786241712021-08-18T12:14:21.585+01:002021-08-18T12:14:21.585+01:00As I wrote at the time had it have attacked Israel...As I wrote at the time had it have attacked Israel at the same time to prevent its atrocities against Palestinians while arresting Sharon for war crimes, its actions would have been much more easily sympathised with. Few bought into destroying the Al Qaeda infrastructure. Had it been serious it would have moved against the Saudis. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-70408558346739463132021-08-18T11:28:17.644+01:002021-08-18T11:28:17.644+01:00The US was attacked on 9/11 and Article 5 of NATO ...The US was attacked on 9/11 and Article 5 of NATO was invoked quite rightfully to destroy Al-Queda infrastructure in Afghanistan. it was a NATO operation not a unilateral US intervention.Barry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-55811533404338783102021-08-18T06:54:05.604+01:002021-08-18T06:54:05.604+01:00Barry - Biden merely followed through on Trump'...Barry - Biden merely followed through on Trump's promises. The speed at which the regime collapsed showed it had no internal standing that was never going to sustain itself. A Kleptocracy. The death of US military intervention in the country was rooted in its birth. The US should never have gone in. There is a concept of humanitarian intervention but there is no concept of US humanitarian AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-49265683283353312502021-08-17T23:30:33.082+01:002021-08-17T23:30:33.082+01:00A rare point of agreement between us, Frankie.
Pa...A rare point of agreement between us, Frankie.<br /><br />Particularly poignant interview in the light of the tragic and distressing events in Kabul. Joe Biden is not my flavour of the month at the moment.Barry Gilheanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220262677398695734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-55802553008572881472021-08-17T20:38:15.153+01:002021-08-17T20:38:15.153+01:00If there is a One World Government, I'd vote M...If there is a One World Government, I'd vote Maryam Namazie as the Minister of Common Sense.<br /><br />That was a great interview....frankiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452424095829736700noreply@blogger.com