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Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 20:57:10 -0400
From: ma_twain <ma_twainnospamo.com>
Subject: Re: 9000CSET, death of a clutch


This is about Saabs, not politics. Any bashing done in this group is limited to GM :-) Dan RatherNot wrote: > "Dave Hinz" <DaveHinznospamcop.net> wrote in message > news:2rdfrlF18k350U2nospamberlin.de... > >>On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 11:31:05 +0200, ZweefÆ <zweefnospamemeel.nl> wrote: >> >>>In article <4150DDD5.3070903nospamo.com>, ma_twainnospamo.com says... >>> >>>>Let's keep this auto group free from political topics. It has ruined >>>>other groups. Thank you. >>>> >>>> >>>Please let's not get too paranoid about what was clearly meant humorous, >>>although you're quite right about that ruining part. >>> >>Humorous maybe, but it's always distracting at best. It's also >>disillusioning when you find out that someone who seems otherwise >>rational has disturbingly different and unexplainable political views. >> > > Different from whom? The Fox "News" Party line? Unexplainable? OK, I'll > explain it to you. Bush squandered $150B chasing ghosts in Iraq, waging a > vendeta war and seeing to it that his cronies make a killing on the killing. > We were led into a murderous war by a pack of lies crafted by a pack of > liers. It was bungled from the start. Inadequate troops, a fantasy land view > of possible scenarios, a complete ignorance of the culture. Most shocking to > me - they didn't support the troops (waving the flag doesn't count). Family > members had to raise money for armoured vests and armour plating for the > HumVee death traps! Once the global beacon of freedom, under Bush America > has become a belligerent, warmongering, incipient police state. Now do you > get it? > > U.S. News/Comment > Is Bush Hitler? > By Commentary > Mar 16, 2004, 09:07 > > March 16, 2004-I realize I am a few months behind the curve of > comparing Bush to Hitler, but there is one aspect of the comparison > that I don't think has been plumbed to its proper depth. No, I am not > talking about the vicious attacks against dissent, the dubious means > used to seize power, or the callous disregard for civil rights. Those > have been given their due. Instead, now that Bush is describing > himself as a "war president," I think it is appropriate to size up > Bush as he compares to the Furher as commander in chief, because both > serve as good examples of what happens when you hand the world's best > military to a petulant egomaniac. > > It is popular among anti-semites and faux intellectuals to describe > Hitler as a military genius. I take issue with that characterization > because while Hitler's Germany did achieve some initial military > success, in my estimation those successes are more accurately > attributed to German engineering, rather than the tactical brilliance > of its political and military leadership. When you have the best > pitchers and the best hitters in the league, winning the pennant > doesn't necessarily make the manager a genius. > > Hitler's biggest blunder was, of course, invading Russia. Intoxicated, > perhaps, by the success of the German military machine against > technologically inferior foes in Poland and France, Hitler decided to > open up the eastern front. The war with England wasn't yet won, but > Hitler's hubris was sufficient that he went against the advice of his > generals. In a very similar manner, Bush ignored the advice of scores > of military and civilian planners to attack Iraq, when the war against > al Qaeda was not quite over. > > Even if one believes the Bush administration's propaganda, and feels > that Iraq was a sufficient threat that it was only a matter of time > before Saddam needed to be removed from power by force, it doesn't > take a genius to see that the timing of the war was misguided. Last > week's serial bombings in Spain, coming nine hundred and eleven days > after the September 11 attacks, were almost certainly organized and > executed by al Qaeda, and stand as a testament to the terrorist > group's ongoing capability to inflict mass murder in western > democracies at a time and place of their choosing. > > Unfortunately, this did not have to be the case. While mistakes were > made in the conduct of operations Afghanistan, (the use of surrogates > at Tora Bora springs to mind), the fact is that the United States and > coalition partners were mostly successful in putting al Qaeda on the > defensive. This balance began to change when the military and > intelligence resources devoted to Afghanistan were redirected towards > Iraq in the winter and spring of 2004. While the initial attack in > Iraq proceeded with stunning speed, in the aftermath, the United > States found itself bogged down as an occupying force at an enormous > cost in both men and materials. Al Qaeda was able to regroup and > retrench, and the results are now evident in the blood of Spanish > citizens. > > In a similar manner, Hitler's initial attack on Russia proceeded with > stunning efficiency. After crossing the Russian border in June of > 1941, the German war machine quickly gobbled up huge portions of > Russian real estate. But when winter set in, the Germans found > themselves mired in a quagmire. In the meantime, German resources had > been diverted away from England, which enabled the English to develop > radar systems that provided the early warning capability that was > crucial to countering German attacks, both in the air and by U boats > in the North Atlantic. > > Incoming Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero has it exactly > right. Right wing reactionaries who dominate the media in the United > States called his election just after the attacks in Madrid an > "appeasement" of al Qaeda, because he has promised to remove Spanish > forces from Iraq during the campaign. However, Spanish forces have > served continuously in Afghanistan, and while some of the > aforementioned right wing reactionaries have inaccurately claimed that > Zapatero has plans to remove them, he has made no such statement. > > Quite the contrary, in his first public address after the election, > Zapatero told his fellow Spaniards "My top priority is fighting all > forms of terrorism. My first initiative will be seeking the political > support to focus all our resources in this direction.'' In light of > the bloody attacks last week, I have every expectation that Zapatero > has no intention of appeasing al Qaeda, and will continue to use, if > not expand, the Spanish forces pursuing al Qaeda in Afghanistan. > > I rather doubt that Baghdad will prove to be the United State's > Stalingrad. At the same time, it might prove to be Bush's. If at some > point between now and next fall's elections al Qaeda mounts an attack > in the United States as bloody as that in Madrid, one can hope that > the voting public will finally see that Bush's war in Iraq was a > misguided diversion towards an enemy with little ability to attack the > United States, and away from a dangerous foe with the demonstrated > capability to do exactly that. > > >

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