On 10 Sep 2003 00:30:00 GMT, (Dav1936531) wrote:

snip

In regards Afghanistan, the place surely became a hell-hole due to lack of US
attention subsequent to their war against the Soviets, however, until such time
as the place was used as a base by Osama and his gang to attack the US, the
place held little strategic interest to the US.

Well, perhaps that's the problem. The Embassy bombings in 1998 were
less than a decade after the Soviets pulled out, and only since the
Taliban took over in what, 1996? was the place open for Osama and his
pals. So less than two years from base to boom. And that's in a
country racked by 15 years plus of warfare, no resources, and no
access to the sea (very useful for getting people and things around).

Do we really want to hope Iraq doesn't go downhill even faster?

The Iarqi Air Force and air defense system no longer exits. Whatever arises in
Iraq, if the US does pull out, is right in the cross hairs of the US Air Force
which will be able to operate with almost complete impunity in Iraqi airspace.
Ditto Iraq's armored forces.....command and control.....etc., etc.
Dave

It's not the conventional weapons of war that concern me. It's the
hundreds of thousands of trained troops, a large fraction of which
will have the knowhow to build bombs (not IEDs, but real, nasty
weapons, like the one that severely damaged the UN building), and a
lot of whom are not particularly fond of the US (and the UK, but to a
much lesser degree for various reasons).

I just hope I'm wrong, and that Iraq will settle down very quickly,
and we'll all live happily ever after.

Peter Kemp