This war could be close to being done...

[ItalianStereotype]

apparently there have been discussions with top iraqi officials and the republican guard about negotiating a surrender. to think people actually thought this would be another vietnam...

[Anonymous]

Yeah, really!

It's much more like beating the shit out of your neighbor's dog with a baseball bat.

[ItalianStereotype]

basically

its either that or beating the shit out of a fat, retarded kid who likes to set the dog on fire.

[Anonymous]

It's not my dog, and that neighbor as well as all the others are telling me not to 'save' it. But I'll get my way.

In reality, I just want the fat retarded kid's lunch.

[ItalianStereotype]

no, the dog is starving and the retard is fat enough.

[Anonymous]

I think there's a dog, but I've never seen or heard it.

[ItalianStereotype]

thats because dogs cant talk. look, the neighborhood committee sure as hell isnt going to talk to fat retard kids mother, therefore we have to make sure that the dog gets fed and the lardass gets grounded.

[Anonymous]

It's just a dog. And the retard gets BATTED. Pay attention.

[ItalianStereotype]

so you think the dog isnt important just because its a dog? and the grounding would come AFTER the batting, YOU pay attention.

if something isnt done that dog is going to die and the fat kid is going to go stomping through the neighbors garden.

[GAsux]

I don't know what all this bestiality talk is about.

Anyway, I'm happy that so far things have gone well. I am willing to bet that air strikes to this point have resulted very very small amounts of civilian damage. If they had, you can bet that Iraqi tv would be parading every bloody woman and child they could find.

I'm am pleasantly suprised that the administration has not pushed the bulk of the campaign yet. I think the administration fully understands where it sits in terms of public support right now. I actually support protesors because although I don't agree with their point of view, I believe that they will help to some degree keep the administration honest. If there were not so much anti war sentiment, I think the administration would have already unleashed the full force.

Instead I think they are still hoping that the psy-ops will work. That the threat of overwhelming force combined with the perception that Saddam is doomed will convince the bulk of the iraqi forces to lay down their arms. Perhaps I'm an idealist but I honestly believe that would be a best case scenario and I hope it happens.

However, I would not take the ease with which U.S. forces have moved to this point to be a sign of an unwillingness to fight on the Iraqi's part. There are obviously many in Iraq loyal to Saddam, particularly in the military. If there weren't, he would have been deposed long ago. I am confident that he has surrounded himself with those loyal forces, who are probably much more willing to fight for the regime than the poorly funded, unnourished conscripts charged with fighting in the countries outskirts.

The prospects of meeting a very determined and well placed force around Bahgdad is a very real possibility. I am hardly ready to celebrate some 24 hours into the tenative start of the campaign.

[ItalianStereotype]

thanks for breaking the thread, jerkface

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Originally Posted by ItalianStereotype

apparently there have been discussions with top iraqi officials and the republican guard about negotiating a surrender. to think people actually thought this would be another vietnam...

I think GAsux makes a good point. It wasn't very hard for us to take the cities in Vietnam, it was the outskirts where the war lied. Same thing with the American Revolution. The British didn't have much trouble taking Philadelphia and New York, but it was Ben Franklin who corrected the statement by saying "Philadelphia took the British." (or something like that). This may be the reverse. There could be a bogged down battle in Baghdad, a city with almost 5 million people.

I hope not. I hope his men surrender and turn him in. I hope the war ends very soon. I actually hope you are right, Eye Tie.

dogs talk. :/

[GAsux]

If Saddam did not have a loyal military force, he would not remain in power. He has relied on the loyalty of the Republican Guard to quell a dozen uprisings in the last ten years. If i were Saddam, I would be sure to keep the most loyal of my forces close to me. His most dedicated and skillled fighters are likely entrenched around Baghdad. I don't think we'll get an accurate assessment of what this war will entail until the ground forces get there. I would hope that they are welcomed with open arms. However I also hope that one day I'll awake to find myself having a normal sized penis, but that never seems to happen.

I wanted to add something about protestors too. In spite of being the fanatic right wing zealot that I am, I actually think the protestors are serving a valuable service. While their demonstrations will obviously not stop the war, they will influence how it's carried out. The relatively substantial amount of anti war sentiment will change the tactics used.

I think that if fewer people were oppossed to war, it would not have been conducted the way it has so far. If there were no opposition, I feel confident that we would have implemented the shock and the awe at the opening bell. It is that critical public eye that is forcing the administration to throttle back and ensure that it proceeds as cautiously as possible. The margin of error that the public will accept in this war is very small, compared to what it would have been willing to accept following 9/11 for example.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

um, isn't this basically what you already have said??? *



















* I'll bet I mised the joke again.

[Pub Lover]

I would seed my loyal followers among the other troops, as they would be less likey to surrender when they know there is the possibility that they'll get a knife in the throat at the slightest hint of disloyalty.

[GAsux]

No you're right. I'm just old. There is no joke. For seem reason I guess I forgot what I wrote earlier. I can't find my medication either. I may have just pooped my pants as well.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

That would seem rather counter-productive. Look at it this way, even if they are hesitant to fight, they still make good cannon fodder. Secondly, if you kill them first, then you're only shooting yourself in the foot. Third, if all of these conscription soldiers surrender in a mass exodus, it gives our military a bit of a problem, doesn't it? We need to process them, put them somewhere, use men to detain and monitor them, etc.

I would think it gives Saddam more time to plot his schemes and play PS2.

[Pub Lover]

Yes, if my primary goal is self-protection, you are correct.

[ItalianStereotype]

reports now say that US forces are in control of the southern portion of iraq and are marching on basrah as well as news of the iraqi 11th regulars surrendering to coalition troops. if its true then the news is getting better and better.

[FS]

The lengthy dog analogy was hilarious

I'm taking every piece of good news as it gets, cause we're still only two days into the war, but if things would be over quick and clean, I'd be extremely happy for everyone.

[Ronnie Raygun]

And the anti-"bush" protesters said we would need 50,000 body bags...

[ItalianStereotype]

a note of interest: as the surrender negotiations continue, saddam has been conspicuosly silent. if he were truly still in power, wouldnt he have offed these dissident generals long ago?