Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2015 - 02:02am PT
|
WTF?
Lemme see if I got this straight:
Our entire economy is based on oil.
We buy oil from our worst enemies and thus make them billionaires.
Our billionaire enemies fund angry young men to become suicide bombers and jihadists, who then attack us around the globe.
We are sending our young men to sh#t-holes in the desert to die and be killed to defend our oil sources.
Is that correct?
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 27, 2015 - 02:14am PT
|
Well yes, sort of....
Except, as I predicted, I'm not actually qualified to speak on the topic.
Only you don't know jack sh!t.
Although weirdly I know enough to actually bring the topic up in the first place.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2015 - 08:01am PT
|
Gal, nice story. I think Americans can be cut a little slack based on geography. What is the
Europeans' excuse? As I mentioned before they're all about bringing Turkey into the EU
while conveniently ignoring the fact that Turkey is a huge part of the problem. To put it another
way, why should we care, other than about the oil? We've never cared about 50 years' worth
of atrocities right across Africa. Aren't we somewhat justified in becoming tired of being the
world's policeman? What would you say to one of the thousands of American mothers who
have lost children over there, that they died so that those people could go on killing each other,
as they have for centuries, just because they disagree on whose offspring of Muhammed
got a raw deal?
BTW, Survival, the wife really liked yer vid! She's ready to go volunteer!
|
|
JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2015 - 11:36am PT
|
There's information out there but you have to dig and have the BS filter turned all the way up.
Quite true. We also are reaping the consequences of the standard world geography and history curriculum with which most Baby Boomers came in contact. Our atlas that came with our 1960 edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica had a full-page map of Israel, and a full page map of the entire near east. That was the extent of its near eastern coverage. Georgraphy was the same. The texts spent far more space on Israel than the rest of the near east put together.
We learned very little about the Ottoman Empire (well, in school, anyway. I learned a very great deal for reasons to whcih I alluded in my previous comment), except that it ended the Byzantine Empire and that had an effect on accelerating the Renaissance. Later we learned how far that empire extended into Europe before it was pushed back.
Although we learned the term "balkanization" in world history, we didn't learn why the Balkans, and the rest of the Ottoman Empire was the way it was. I find it ironic, speaking as an Armenian whose families suffered greatly during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, that the Ottomans were much more tolerant rulers than most other conquerors. Rather than exterminating or completely assimilating the peoples they conquered, they simply lived among them. The Kurds are simply one of many ancient peoples who lived in the Empire, along with Assyrians, Armenians, Albanians, Greeks, et al.
After their defeat in World War I, Turkish resentment of non-Turks grew. This led to the inevitable alienation of the Kurds. In any case, when the western colonial powers divided up the non-Turkish territory of the Ottoman Empire, their boundaries had no particular respect for the differing ethnic and religious groups. Thus, there were Assyrians, Kurds and Armenians in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran. There was also a significant population of adherants to the B'hai faith in Iran and, of course, a large Kurdish population in Turkey.
ISIS, in contrast, is doing what the Ottomans did not do, namely ethnic and religious cleansing. The ethnic and religious minorities must flee from their historic homes or die, just as my mother's family did in 1923. Unfortunately for civilization, however, western intelligence concerning near eastern affairs is still remarkably weak. One thing that Obama did right, in my opinion, was not send troops to Syria, particularly early in the rebellion. We had no idea who the "good guys" were or weren't, and doubtless would have ended up taking actions that helped ISIS. Perhaps that explains the European reluctance to act, as well.
John
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 27, 2015 - 01:57pm PT
|
Thanks Reilly.
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2015 - 05:02pm PT
|
Kurds are a dairy product obtained by coagulating milk in a process called Kurdling .....
Muahahaha ......
|
|
TGT
Social climber
So Cal
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2015 - 08:22pm PT
|
That's curds
And crude to refer to a people as rotten milk.
A very Turkish comment.
(and Iranian and Iraqi)
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 28, 2015 - 05:22am PT
|
Poor bastards are getting killed from every side, and yet still seem to be the most reliable and sane people in the region. The women's faces are uncovered, the men respect them, and they fight like warriors. How much more can we ask of a friend in that part of the world??
|
|
10b4me
Social climber
|
|
|
Aug 29, 2015 - 08:33am PT
|
They also said they were amazed by the apathy of people in the U.S.
Because 'mericans are more interested in who won the baseball, football, or basketball game.
We also need to know what the kardashians are up to. Now, when does that new mall open?
|
|
Scott Patterson
Mountain climber
Craig
|
|
|
Dec 28, 2015 - 08:12pm PT
|
Poor bastards are getting killed from every side, and yet still seem to be the most reliable and sane people in the region. The women's faces are uncovered, the men respect them, and they fight like warriors. How much more can we ask of a friend in that part of the world??
Most Kurdish leaders are communists. For decades US policy was to arm the Islamic extremists to fight the communists. Now we've gone full circle and want to arm the communists to fight the Islamic extremists.
|
|
bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
|
|
|
Dec 28, 2015 - 08:37pm PT
|
As of today a pretty bold group consisting of SDF (Syrian Defense Forces) soldiers, Kurds, and Christians has been layin' into ISIS and are making advances around Aleppo.
http://aranews.net/2015/12/17263/
The USAF continues to pound positions in Northern Iraq/Southern Syria, the Russkies have Central/Northern Syria. Bombing the piss out of their smuggled oil.
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=12/28/2015&SO=&HC=1&ID=440081
ISIS is in big trouble, look for them to become desperate.
|
|
gumbyclimber
climber
|
|
|
Dec 28, 2015 - 09:59pm PT
|
The Kurds are the nicest and most hospitable people I have ever met. We couldn't stop them from giving us everything: market vendors, taxi drivers, travel agents. Nobody would take our money. They'd just put their arm around me and say, "Friends come before money!" But you're a travel agent and I'm a tourist! We spent 10 days or so sitting at the bus station playing dominoes. The loser has to buy the round of tea but they would keep playing until we won and then look at their watch and suddenly have to call it a day.
They are the largest ethic group in the world that doesn't have their own country. Sadly, they aren't in any danger of getting it either because they are an Iranian people and, therefore, the big winner would be Iran.
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 29, 2015 - 09:54am PT
|
Blue, less caution about what they're hitting is one explanation. It's already known for example, that they were hitting forces that we were avoiding because they want to prop up Assad. Also, they can drop their bombs on anything and say they've hit a "target".
The USA is taking it seriously.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!