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anti-war protesters: please give me a fact that supports your argument

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Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: apoppin
I am not very impressed with the coalition's "intellegence". Saddam IS winning the propaganda war and the coalition is WAY too slow to react - look how long it took to shut down Iraqi TV.
Well, considering it was taken out with an experimental EMP bomb, I'd imagine some debate was made as to how to actually do it and was it worth risking the use of an EMP weapon.

We have NO clue what we about to get into in Baghdad. I predict hundreds of thousands of casualties. :Q
I have to quite disagree. Do you honestly think this administration (and in conjunction with the British) just placed 300,000 troops in the area with no anticipation of what was to come? Do you honestly think they don't expect protracted street-by-street fighting? Bush, himself, said this would be a long conflict.
They don't have a clue . . . honestly. 😛
 
We have NO clue what we about to get into in Baghdad. I predict hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Oh yeah! Well, I predict hundreds of MILLIONS of casualties!

EDIT: Oh, yeah, I dont think the Romans had nuclear weapons 😛
 
Originally posted by: Mookow
We have NO clue what we about to get into in Baghdad. I predict hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Oh yeah! Well, I predict hundreds of MILLIONS of casualties!

EDIT: Oh, yeah, I don't think the Romans had nuclear weapons 😛
IF they did Civilization would have ended - FINALLY - 2,000 years ago (instead of THIS decade). 😛

 
Originally posted by: rchiu
Originally posted by: vital
if you're an anti-war protester please give me at least one FACT that supports why you think the US should not go to iraq and get rid of saddam.

Why don't you give at least one FACT that support you think the US should go to Iraq and get rid of Saddam? you and your warmoger buddies are the one that needs justification, the war is gonna kill thousands you know.

Saddam has killed millions and will continue to do so

Next!

 
Originally posted by: Alistar7
"Saddam has no connection to bin Laden or Al Qaeda. Saddam's weapons pose no threat to the US."


That is YOUR contention. Do you really think YOU have more access to information than the intelligence of the US,UK, and Israel? BWAAAHHHAAAAAAA

Saddam will CEASE to pose any risk to anyone very soon.

Pray tell what in the world does the US need anyone else for?

Since you are so sure Saddam is the source of all evil/thread to us, that's fine. After US killed thousands of Iraqis, with hundreds of our own died in the battle, and the threat of terrorism is still there and the danger that every one of us is facing is still there, hopefully all those people who died needlessly will be on your conscious....if you have one that is.
 
Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: rchiu
Originally posted by: vital
if you're an anti-war protester please give me at least one FACT that supports why you think the US should not go to iraq and get rid of saddam.

Why don't you give at least one FACT that support you think the US should go to Iraq and get rid of Saddam? you and your warmoger buddies are the one that needs justification, the war is gonna kill thousands you know.

Thousands of Iraqi troops, maybe. And whose fault would that be? Yes, Saddam's for not surrendering before the deadline.

Sure, Saddam is the one dropping all the bombs. Nice try to shift the guilt.
 
Originally posted by: Alistar7
Originally posted by: conjur
UK: Legal basis for war

well now a return to force is very clearly spelled out, whats the problem then?

Oh the French, Germans, Russians, and Chineese need Saddam to stay in power to get paid, and they don't want the illegal weapons they supplied to be found or worse yet, USED in the war..Like th GPS jamming stations and anti tank missilles.....
rolleye.gif

The UK AG?s case itself is an agrument that the war does not confirm to UN resolutions. He listed indisputable facts up until point 7. ?It is plain that Iraq has failed so to comply and therefore Iraq was at the time of resolution 1441 and continues to be in material breach.? ?It is plain? is an opinion. Blix didn't declare Iraq in violation of 1441. Blix said he needed more time (months) to reach a conculsion on Iraq.
 
Originally posted by: Alistar7
Millions alone have died due to sanctions because of Saddam's non complinace, let alone any of his former and current atrocities against his own people. In 8 days of fighting there has been less deaths than on American highways in that same number of days. Very soon the safety and liberty of 27,000,000 Iraqi's will become reality, as is always the case, the collective is always more important than the individual. The rest of the world will be safer as well.

Yeah, you don't have to repeat the propaganda administration has been feeding us. If you really want to know the fact, get out of your little town and see the world a little. Listen to the opinion of the people close to the situation, like in Arab countries. Or just go to any country outside of US where people are not fed with all these biased views and so called facts. You will be surprise who most of the people in the world think the villian in this mess is.
 
Originally posted by: seawolf21

The UK AG?s case itself is an agrument that the war does not confirm to UN resolutions. He listed indisputable facts up until point 7. ?It is plain that Iraq has failed so to comply and therefore Iraq was at the time of resolution 1441 and continues to be in material breach.? ?It is plain? is an opinion. Blix didn't declare Iraq in violation of 1441. Blix said he needed more time (months) to reach a conculsion on Iraq.
1441 itself declares Iraq to be in material breach!

?Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,



?1.Decides that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687 (1991), in particular through Iraq's failure to cooperate with United Nations inspectors and the IAEA, and to complete the actions required under paragraphs 8 to 13 of resolution 687 (1991);
 
Originally posted by: rchiu

Listen to the opinion of the people close to the situation, like in Arab countries. Or just go to any country outside of US where people are not fed with all these biased views and so called facts. You will be surprise who most of the people in the world think the villian in this mess is.
You mean the people fed by news with a highly anti-American bias? Ok...I gotcha.
 
Originally posted by: vital
if you're an anti-war protester please give me at least one FACT that supports why you think the US should not go to iraq and get rid of saddam.

There are no facts against war nor are there facts for war. We are not going to war not to liberate anybody nor are we going for oil. Bush's case for war is that Iraq might sell WMD to Osama because Iraq has WMD, Iraq doesn't like US, Osama is seeking WMD, and Osama is willing to attack the US.

Some of the anti-war camp don't believe it is American to shoot first and then prove we were right (hopefully) afterwards. It goes against this whole notion of innocent until proven guilty. Now of course, one can argue that such a concept does not apply to the affairs of state but on the individual level, it does go against that notion.

Another anti-war idea is that even if Iraq did sell or had the intent to sell WMDs to Osama or any other organization, WMDs and terrorism is not going away after the war. Saddam and Osama are symptoms of a much larger problem and Bush is only treating the symptoms and not the cause with this war. The cause is a matter of debate. Some say our dependence on oil is causing us to mettle in the affairs of the Persian Gulf. Would Osama really exist if we weren?t in the Middle East? Would we really care about Saddam if the region didn?t have any oil? Bush is spending more than $100 billion addressing a symptom while ignoring the root of the problem.

Then there are those who will oppose war regardless of the circumstances.
 
This is a really touchy subject, and I'm starting to find myself torn between the two positions. I think that there has been alot of propaganda from both sides.

I agree that something has to be done about Saddam Hussein, but I don't think that war is the answer. I'm still waiting for the day when the world can resolve problems like this peacefully.

If you want "proof" about why this war shouldn't be going on, the best that I can come up with is the fact that hundreds of civilians have already died in this conflict, and many more will in the ensuing days. Add to this the military casualties. Can you really put a price to a human life?

I know that the rebuttal to this argument is that if the U.S. does nothing, there is a good chance that Iraq will provide terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, and September 11 will look like a walk in the park. All that I can say to that is that I feel that this war is only going to increase the hatred that many people feel against Americans. Sure, it will most likely rid the world of a terrible dictator, but there will be other countries like North Korea lining up to help the terrorists.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast

If you want "proof" about why this war shouldn't be going on, the best that I can come up with is the fact that hundreds of civilians have already died in this conflict, and many more will in the ensuing days. Add to this the military casualties. Can you really put a price to a human life?

I know that the rebuttal to this argument is that if the U.S. does nothing, there is a good chance that Iraq will provide terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, and September 11 will look like a walk in the park. All that I can say to that is that I feel that this war is only going to increase the hatred that many people feel against Americans. Sure, it will most likely rid the world of a terrible dictator, but there will be other countries like North Korea lining up to help the terrorists.
I think a more accurate rebuttal is look at who is causing the civilian deaths. Iraqi troops firing upon civilians in cold-blooded murder is atrocious. Yes, it's tragic, too, that civilians are killed as 'collateral damage' but none of this would be happening if Saddam had not broken 12 years' worth of UN Resolutions and had disarmed as he agreed to in the original 1991 cease-fire.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Oh come on, don't blame the Iraqis for the civilian deaths, you know that many of them were killed by American bombs.

No, I don't know and neither do you. Post some links and I'd be inclined to believe you. But, until then, I can only go by what I read/hear and that's that the Iraqi troops are indiscriminately killing innocent civilians. The coalition forces are bombing military installations.

If you meant that in sarcasm...I guess I need to stand in line at the sarcasm detector RMA counter.
 
Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: seawolf21

The UK AG?s case itself is an agrument that the war does not confirm to UN resolutions. He listed indisputable facts up until point 7. ?It is plain that Iraq has failed so to comply and therefore Iraq was at the time of resolution 1441 and continues to be in material breach.? ?It is plain? is an opinion. Blix didn't declare Iraq in violation of 1441. Blix said he needed more time (months) to reach a conculsion on Iraq.
1441 itself declares Iraq to be in material breach!

?Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,



?1.Decides that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687 (1991), in particular through Iraq's failure to cooperate with United Nations inspectors and the IAEA, and to complete the actions required under paragraphs 8 to 13 of resolution 687 (1991);


Putting the first point of 1441's context yields a totally different meaning. The resolution states that even thought Iraq is in breach, it is being presented with a final chance to come clean (2.). Failing to do so will result in the UN reconvening to consider the situation (4, 11, 12). Blix wanted more time to fulfill the resolution and was denied.

2. Decides, while acknowledging paragraph 1 above, to afford Iraq, by this resolution, a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations under relevant resolutions of the Council; and accordingly decides to set up an enhanced inspection regime with the aim of bringing to full and verified completion the disarmament process established by resolution 687 (1991) and subsequent resolutions of the Council;

4. Decides that false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq pursuant to this resolution and failure by Iraq at any time to comply with, and cooperate fully in the implementation of, this resolution shall constitute a further material breach of Iraq?s obligations and will be reported to the Council for assessment in accordance with paragraphs 11 and 12 below;

11. Directs the Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC and the Director-General of the IAEA to report immediately to the Council any interference by Iraq with inspection activities, as well as any failure by Iraq to comply with its disarmament obligations, including its obligations regarding inspections under this resolution;

12. Decides to convene immediately upon receipt of a report in accordance with paragraphs 4 or 11 above, in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance with all of the relevant Council resolutions in order to secure international peace and security;
 
Originally posted by: palad
Originally posted by: Alistar7
America always has and always will retain the right to protect herself, proactively or not.

what part of that did you not understand? The UN does not decide America's policy, sorry.


But this war isn't about self-defense or protection. Remember, Saddam has no connection to bin Laden or Al Qaeda. Saddam's weapons pose no threat to the US. These are points that US Military authorities have already conceded, as well as intelligence assets from other countries.

If there's no realistic threat, there's no justification.


And if the US ever wants to be part of a world coalition, it must abide by that coalition's rules. It can't just pick and choose the convenient ones.

Ok, and we don't have US interests in Israel, right?
rolleye.gif
 
Originally posted by: seawolf21

Putting the first point of 1441's context yields a totally different meaning. The resolution states that even thought Iraq is in breach, it is being presented with a final chance to come clean (2.). Failing to do so will result in the UN reconvening to consider the situation (4, 11, 12). Blix wanted more time to fulfill the resolution and was denied.
Which shows how pointless 1441 really is. "Let's make a resolution to state that Iraq is in material breach and will suffer serious consequences but we'll give you just one more try. And then, after that, we're going to be really tough. No, I mean it this time!"

You'd think the UN was all members of Monty Python
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Civilian Deaths

Now let's see your proof. Then we can compare numbers.

There's quite a mix of civilians in there (ITN reporter listed as one of them). And some of them were possibly as a result of Iraqi munitions, esp. the market in Al-Sha'ab. And this one, if a cruise missile hit a house, the whole damn neighborhood would have been destroyed and no one would have survived. There's no proof it was a U.S. cruise missile.

I haven't seen numbers, yet, of the civilians killed by Iraqi troops as it's next to impossible for that to be verified due to the ongoing fighting but you seem to try to be in defense of them.

Iraqi militia fire on 2,000 civilians fleeing Basra
 
I haven't seen numbers, yet, of the civilians killed by Iraqi troops as it's next to impossible for that to be verified due to the ongoing fighting but you seem to try to be in defense of them.

I'm in no way in defence of them. I'm simply pointing out that this war is killing people. I'm not denying that the Iraqis are killing their own people; I know that they've done it before.

Like I said in my earlier post, I'm torn between the two positions...on one hand I 100% support the US, because I know for a fact that they would stand beside my country (Canada) if we were ever threatened. On the other hand tho, the war greatly concerns me, because as I said earlier, I feel that the military action is only going to further perpetuate the hatred felt by many people worldwide towards the American people.

I have nothing but good things to say about the US. I have been there many times, and the people have always been very friendly towards me.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast

Like I said in my earlier post, I'm torn between the two positions...on one hand I 100% support the US, because I know for a fact that they would stand beside my country (Canada) if we were ever threatened. On the other hand tho, the war greatly concerns me, because as I said earlier, I feel that the military action is only going to further perpetuate the hatred felt by many people worldwide towards the American people.

I have nothing but good things to say about the US. I have been there many times, and the people have always been very friendly towards me.
I have to agree with you on that point. I am concerned, myself, on how the world will act after this is over.

And, btw, one of my best friends is Canadian 😉 (She lives in Toronto).
 
Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: seawolf21

Putting the first point of 1441's context yields a totally different meaning. The resolution states that even thought Iraq is in breach, it is being presented with a final chance to come clean (2.). Failing to do so will result in the UN reconvening to consider the situation (4, 11, 12). Blix wanted more time to fulfill the resolution and was denied.
Which shows how pointless 1441 really is. "Let's make a resolution to state that Iraq is in material breach and will suffer serious consequences but we'll give you just one more try. And then, after that, we're going to be really tough. No, I mean it this time!"

You'd think the UN was all members of Monty Python

Regardless of how pointless it is, it still doesn't make the war legal.
 
Originally posted by: seawolf21

Regardless of how pointless it is, it still doesn't make the war legal.
Actually, it does. The original cease-fire was broken by Saddam's refusal to disarm and/or show proof of weapons' destruction.
 
Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: seawolf21

Regardless of how pointless it is, it still doesn't make the war legal.

Actually, it does. The original cease-fire was broken by Saddam's refusal to disarm and/or show proof of weapons' destruction.


According to the UK AG, the breach was not declared until 1441 (point 1). Point 2 of 1441 clearly shows that regardless of the breach declared in point 1 of the same resolution, we are giving Iraq a final chance. It was signed by the UN and the US.

What we did was take 1441 and decided to enforce point 1 and pretend everything else after that didn?t exist even though we signed off on the entire resolution last year. How does that make this legal? It only shows the world that when we don't get our way, we will just pick and choose the pieces of a resolution that fit our agenda.
 
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