Ok, let's see if we can get this all straight...
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Originally posted by bhutocracy
lol. it was a token contribution by a couple of nations that matter ie japan who had their soldiers mainly away from the action in safe areas, and "moral" support from nations either propped up and dependant on by US aid, or trying to negotiate other benefits for their support, mostly WITHOUT the support of the actual population themselves...
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Regardless of "WHO" these countries supporting us are, or "HOW MUCH" they contribute, it doesn't negate the fact that 25% (48 countries listed out of 190) of the countries in the world are openly supporting/participating in the war in Iraq.
And the fact that it is the governments of these countries showing support, and not always the population - that just further proves my point to the original question regarding affects on foreign policy - I'd rather have the governments back the U.S. and not the people, than the people but not the governments.
According to Jawanda's list of contributing forces... that totals to just under 25,000 TROOPS! Is that the "token" amount you were referring to?!? Yes, it's a good sound byte to point out that Denmark for example provided less than 500 troops, but it all adds up. And what, did you expect Denmark to contribute 20 Stealth Bombers and a few aircraft carriers?
Let's see...
Carlito and the rest,
I completely agree that so much is at stake right now. 9/11 was payment for U.S. policies for the past 40-50 years, not Bush's alone. This is a conflict playing out for years, and the two parties involved are so fundamentally different that coexistence and peace make it almost impossible. The only thing I've seen is that out of the past 40 years, Bush has made the strongest stand in this war, and although painful in some spots, it needs to be done and will help in the long run.
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Originally posted by Centurion
But the only really signficant input a country can give the U.S. in a war like Iraq are troops and money.
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I would disagree there, because every contribution, big or small helps the U.S. Especially things like overflight rights and humanitarian aid. Alot of countries are limited by what aid they CAN give, so I think every bit helps.
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Originally posted by Centurion
Please tell me HOW the Iraqi war has made you safer living in that large city you are talking about!
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My only response to that is to just look at the broader picture, which is difficult for even me at times. I don't think anyone is suggesting that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, but I still see it as just one battle in a much bigger and longer fight. Iraq WILL become a safe, stable democracy in the end. A large thriving democracy in the backyard of a large number of terrorists and terrorist supporting governments will have a huge effect, and at the least will put a lot more pressure on these governments to start helping out, as it already has proven to do in many cases.
Although it's very questionable the ties between Iraq and terrorism prior to the war, there's no doubt that it is a hotbed now - but drawing out your enemy so you can defeat them, in my book, is a much better plan than letting them hide in caves for 10 years and plan more attacks. So I say, bring them on!
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Originally posted by EviLSuperstaR
The past 2 days a lot of Al-Qaeda members were arrested in Belgium, Spain and Italy thanks to the good co-operation of intelligence services. Thats the way to figh terrorism.
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Of course that's the best way to fight terrorism, but what would you have proposed to do with Iraq? Was Iraq making any high profile terrorist arrests? Was Iraq saying to the rest of the world, "Hey, we would really like to help out and put and end to Muslim extremists"?