Re: Gulf War 2 : Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:00 pm  

I saw a statistic the other day that claimed if the money spent on Iraq had been channelled to aid, we could have solved the world hunger problem for the next 130 years

Re: Gulf War 2 : Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:36 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

I saw a statistic the other day that claimed if the money spent on Iraq had been channelled to aid, we could have solved the world hunger problem for the next 130 years

Or have been well on our way to colonizing Mars according to Charles Stross.
The Cod-fathers statistic would be a better way spent mind.

Re: Gulf War 2 : Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:57 pm  

Ten years on and it would be interesting to see if the people are any better now than they were back then, under Blair.

I would say that life has got worse since he was removed.

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:00 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Ten years on and it would be interesting to see if the people are any better now than they were back then, under Blair.

I would say that life has got worse since he was removed.

John Simpson gave a telling report from Baghdad on Tuesdays BBC News.
He said in his opinion that things had got slightly better but that the vast amount of Iraqi's he talked to said things had got worse.
Mind you, he is a pompous lover who will flit in and out of there with maximum security and possibly the best of accomodation, so he's bound to have a better grasp on the reality of the situation than the population who actually live there, day to day, isn't he?

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:19 am  

Unfortunately after we bombed the shit out of Iraqi infrastructure, we did next to buggerall to rebuild it again. If we'd prioritised the restoration of reliable electricity, oil, potable water and sewerage systems, I doubt we'd have half the problems we see now and could probably have returned the troops home a damn sight quicker

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:40 am  

WIZEB wrote:

John Simpson gave a telling report from Baghdad on Tuesdays BBC News.
He said in his opinion that things had got slightly better but that the vast amount of Iraqi's he talked to said things had got worse.
Mind you, he is a pompous lover who will flit in and out of there with maximum security and possibly the best of accomodation, so he's bound to have a better grasp on the reality of the situation than the population who actually live there, day to day, isn't he?

So that's not the John Simpson who nearly got blown up by a carelessly dropped US bomb that killed a load of US soldiers and some of his own crew, including the young Iraqi whose feet were blown off leaving him to bleed to death?

You might dislike Simpson, but the idea that he has no idea about the realities of war is nonsense.

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:05 am  

Mintball wrote:

So that's not the John Simpson who nearly got blown up by a carelessly dropped US bomb that killed a load of US soldiers and some of his own crew, including the young Iraqi whose feet were blown off leaving him to bleed to death?

You might dislike Simpson, but the idea that he has no idea about the realities of war is nonsense.

You know how you dislike people quoting things you never said Minty?
I'm merely suggesting that the permanent feet on the ground are possibly in a superior position to make judgement on whether there has been any improvement in their lot.

Would you not agree?

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:03 pm  

WIZEB wrote:

:NAUGHTY:
You know how you dislike people quoting things you never said Minty?
I'm merely suggesting that the permanent feet on the ground are possibly in a superior position to make judgement on whether there has been any improvement in their lot.

Would you not agree?

Yes. But that doesn't mean that your description of Simpson is entirely fair/accurate.

The problem would be if his report hadn't acknowledged the responses of those "feet on the ground" that he had talked to.

Re: Gulf War 2 : Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:54 pm  

Mintball wrote:

Yes. But that doesn't mean that your description of Simpson is entirely fair/accurate.

To be entirely fair to him, I prefer anybody to Kate Adie.