Musharraf: U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan unless it helped war on terror

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

I hate to see you disappointed Dis, but I think it's going to take generations before the rest of the world trusts America again. Bush ****ed in the pool and its going to take some time for that mess to be cleaned up. No one is going to be the first to jump in and see if its okay for a swim.

Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I'm more interested to see if the level of cooperation goes up and the level of rhetoric goes down. Both directions. Trust is a whole other issue.

[Are you a Flamer?]

Who cares, all those sandbags stick together. Bomb em all Bush!!!

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Are you a Flamer?

Who cares, all those sandbags stick together. Bomb em all Bush!!!

Did a troll get lose on the boards again?

Anyways...you've got to be pretty naive if this actually surprises you.

EDIT: Not a troll, but highly inappropriate.

[Are you a Flamer?]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Did a troll get lose on the boards again?

Anyways...you've got to be pretty naive if this actually surprises you.

EDIT: Not a troll, but highly inappropriate.

Dude, they are the cancer of the world and all stick together because they think what they believe is superior and right.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Are you a Flamer?

Dude, they are the cancer of the world and all stick together because they think what they believe is superior and right.

Just to clarify, who are you referring to when you say "they?"

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Are you a Flamer?

Dude, they are the cancer of the world and all stick together because they think what they believe is superior and right.

Nothing like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, right?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Don't pay the guy any attention. He is one of those people that just like to stir the pot. He probably doesn't even know where Pakistan is.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Don't pay the guy any attention. He is one of those people that just like to stir the pot. He probably doesn't even know where Pakistan is.

George Bush?

[Are you a Flamer?]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Just to clarify, who are you referring to when you say "they?"

MOD EDIT: Removed, that kind of comments aren't appropriate here.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Are you a Flamer?

MOD EDIT: Removed, that kind of comments aren't appropriate here.

I believe it would be "those kinds of comments..."

Back on topic...

In the wake of the Chavez non-sensical rant and now this, it seems the U.S. just continues to reel back further in the international community. While this doesn't surprise me, I also wonder if this isn't a ploy to harbour anti-U.S. sentiments into popular support. It seems to work in Venezuela.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by rubecube

In the wake of the Chavez non-sensical rant and now this, it seems the U.S. just continues to reel back further in the international community. While this doesn't surprise me, I also wonder if this isn't a ploy to harbour anti-U.S. sentiments into popular support. It seems to work in Venezuela.

It probably will give Chavez a lot of support in the anti-US countries around the world. I STILL think that it makes him look like an idiot.

Nice to see you around here again Rube.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Azure

It probably will give Chavez a lot of support in the anti-US countries around the world. I STILL think that it makes him look like an idiot.

Yeah, I'm definitely in the anti-Bush crowd but that was ridiculous. All it's going to do is get the conservatives' backs up and create more polarization.

Nice to see you around here again Rube.

Been working too much lately but it looks like it's settling down. Feels good to be back.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

I hate to see you disappointed Dis, but I think it's going to take generations before the rest of the world trusts America again. Bush ****ed in the pool and its going to take some time for that mess to be cleaned up. No one is going to be the first to jump in and see if its okay for a swim.

This is a hilarious statement. So true.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, I'm definitely in the anti-Bush crowd but that was ridiculous. All it's going to do is get the conservatives' backs up and create more polarization.

As mentioned in the other thread, Chavez may well have a specific audience to whom that speech plays somewhat better than it does north of Panama. But "polarization" may also have been part of the agenda all along. Extremists, on both the left and the right, thrive on polarization--by turning "right vs. left" debates into "good vs. evil" as opposed to seeing differences of opinion as simply different, equally well-intentioned ways of running a government. To Chavez, Bush is the devil because of his ideology. I'm virtually sure that Bush and his crew feel likewise, which makes the whole thing a pointless zero-sum game. And we wonder why people sometimes are skeptical about the political process.

About Musharraf: something sounds really funny about this. I'll have to find out exactly what he says in the book, because it seems to me that even on Sept. 12, 2001, he had to know that actually bombing Pakistan (something Richard Armitage claims not to have had the power to do anyway) was not a feasible game plan for the Americans at that point. If it's an empty threat, why make it? On the other hand, why should Musharraf make it up? I'm confused.