Imagine how great the world would be without the MId East and its Terrorist.

don't be a big dick, it's just as well without americans if that's how you think

We'll forever be tied to negative events in Iraq for going in there in '03 and turning the place unside down. I understand a million and a half people LEFT during the war and are trickling back in, so there's more to come. Their homes, livelihoods, food, water, utilities were devastated and I guess the graves and tombs, too. Gads, I wish we had never gone in there.

I'd be wonderful if the other 6.5 billion people in the world would just police themselves. You're right, America would be a much better place with my brothers and sisters home. Maybe Germany can protect Germany. Maybe Japan can protect Japan. Maybe Iraq can take care of Iraq. Hopefuly the Iraqis will take back their future in less time than the Germans.

Allmill2- MORON! That kool-aid must have tasted really good... We went to war for oil and you still believe in the tooth fairy. Again, M-O-R-O-N.

<q>excaliburgc yadda yadda yadda</q>

Imagine the world without Ignorance, such as the statement you made.

We went to war as a power play. Sadam put out a hit on the older Bush and his son George answered the threat. That is what you call power. The only other time such power was witnessed was in WWII when the Seventh Fleet was stopped and turned around because a General's son who was a pilot went down on an Island in the Pacific. These are displays of power on the largest scale in the World. Like when you went to the schoolyard because the bully picked on your little brother.

the world would be a better place without selfishness and ignorance such as yours

you are a TOTAL MORON if you still feel it was Bush's fault just like Nobama.He still says that it was all Bush's fault for everything.You need to understand that all members of congress dems and repubs got the same info so blame all of them,not just Bush.This is old news find something else to spout about and get your facts right before you post.

The BIGGEST POLITICAL TALL TALE of ALL TIME is the one told by Democrats about our involvement in Iraq. Bill Clinton said in '98 "Mark my words,if we don't stop Saddam Hussein from rebuilding his WMDs he WILL USE THEM". All of the players gave lofty speeches in 2002 warning of the threat of Saddam yet somehow in less than a year 11 years of acknowledgement of the threat of this two bit thug WERE THROWN OUT for the "BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED" line after "W"s admittedly stupid "Mission Accomplished" "D'oh" (as well as polling data that showed the majority of Dem voters were anti-war). I opposed our involvement because I thought it would distract from finishing our business in Afghanistan, but I've never believed that Saddam wasn't a threat or that it's not possible he had WMDs that he moved. I also believe Iraq is a better place without Saddam and especially without the threat of a second generation of Husseins in charge!!

Republican retards trying to deflect blame again. You guys screwed up! Be a man and admit it!

Bob H. It is Bush's fault, America had NO reason to invade Iraq, had the Bush/Cheney oil crew not done that we would not be there now and 5000+ young men, women would still be alive and not having this "unpaid for war" would have meant that the deficit would be smaller.

If you want to say that it is not Bush's fault that America invaded Iraq, then how did we get there? They had no weapons of mass destruction. We now know that Cheney made up that information in spite of the CIA and MI5 (British Intelligence) both saying that was not so. So again I ask, who is responsible for America being there?

Please don't go into a childish rant about communism or any of the other stupid GOTea talking points unless you can clearly demonstrate that you know what they mean.

BTW If I were you I would be very careful about calling anyone a moron given the leaders (past and present) of your party.

To Fred G. from N.C.

The only problem with your facts is that you stopped in '98. There were years and years of inspectors sent into Iraq after these quotes who worked there during the Clinton and Bush Administrations and they could find NOTHING, yet Bush (or rather Cheney and Rumsfeld, old buddies from the Nixon and Reagan days) went there anyway. Bush quoted in his 2003 State of the Union address that we may be seeing "a mushroom cloud." From what? The world's greatest countries would not follow us in there because they knew better, and they knew there was an agenda that was not above board. I've been Republican for 35 voting years and I detest what Bush/Cheney did to our party and to our country. They should be given their rightful "place in history" that they so richly deserve.

Years and years of inspectors sent into Iraq my a$$! How did my post stop in '98 when I mentioned all of the fiery speeches delivered by Democrats in 2002?? Saddam didn't allow inspectors back into Iraq until 2002 when he realized that "W" (and indeed with the support of the entire Congress at the time) was getting ready to come after him. He NEVER, EVER cooperated with UN inspectors a FACT that was stated in EVERY REPORT ever released on Iraq!! One of the reasons all of the politicians (AGAIN NOT JUST REPUBLICANS) believed Saddam was a threat was because THERE WERE FOUR YEARS WITHOUT ANY INSPECTIONS!!! Only after the "Mission Accomplished" fiasco (and checking the polls) did Democrats suddenly turn from hawks into doves!!

To Fred G. from N.C.

There were not 4 years w/o inspectors. And when Saddam would refuse an inspection at a specific site, the industrialized nations pressured him into acquiescence with economic measures. Also, no one on Earth (let me say that again, no one on EARTH) has as much information as the Presidency of the United States. Say what you want about the Democrats and their positions, but whomever is in the White House has The Information Point-Blank. As for this "only after Mission Accomplished fiasco ... did Democrats suddenly turn from hawks to doves," there's only this to say. There were Republicans like me (not just Democrats) that spoke against this war but the country had been so pumped into fear and anger, that those of us speaking against it were called unpatriotic and losers. We waited 3 long years for others to catch up and then when the masses started to put things together, boom! People wanted the U.S. out of Iraq. Now you add stats such as 2.3 million jobs gained under Bush/Cheney vs. 30 million in previous administrations and then the Wall Street bust and boom! Republicans were voted out of office. The only mushroom clouds we've seen so far are the ones hitting the Party.

To all the thick skulled Dems who think it's just Bush's fault no one could send troops anywhere in the World without approval of Congress. As to troops died yes they did but aren't they still dying in Afghanistan under Obama, whose followed in Bush's footsteps. So I guess the White House knows things that they don't tell us. And with your reasoning why did we go to Europe in WWII and let all those men die. Remember Normandy. What did we care if Hitler took over Europe we didn't live there and it's an ocean away. So come to your senses-what did we do in Korea and Nam?

BULL$H*T there weren't four years without inspectors !! If you want to split hairs it may not have been exactly 4 years but Saddam kicked the inspectors out in 1998 and let them return in 2002. From Wikipedia when you type UN Weapons inspectors: "There were no inspections in Iraq for nearly four years after the UN departed from Iraq in 1998, and Iraq asserted that they would never be invited back" UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix stated in a January 2003 appearance before the UN Security Council that "Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance of the disarmament" I'd print all the other double talk and tap dancing around the issue but that's the bottom line and if you want more look it up. Bottom line overall is while I didn't feel that Iraq was a clear and present danger to the U.S. in 2003 (and especially not enough to divert attention away from Afghanistan) I wasn't the President and neither were you as you already pointed out . As for your jobs statement "W" was slammed with the Tech Bubble recession followed closely by the post 9/11 recession so I won't give him credit for as few jobs created nor Clinton for as many since the Tech sector boom was a test run of a job sector that Clinton/AlGore HAD TO KNOW (since as you put so well, no one on EARTH has as much information as the Presidency of the United States) was going to be shipped intact to F**KING INDIA !!!

To Fred G. from N.C.:

First, the inspectors were pulled by the U.N., not by Saddam Hussein, and could have gone back in when they wanted. Second, for fact-checks, I would suggest reading beyond Wikipedia (?!). Try some of the Reports for Congress (that's with capitals for a reason - specifically Iraq: U.N. Inspections for Weapons of Mass Destruction) or UNSCOM (you look it up) or some of the CarnegieEndowment.org reports or the GlobalSecurityNewsWire.org. Third, if you want to make the point that I couldn't know what was going on in the Presidency, then where does that leave You and Your argument? This is a debate between citizens from our standpoint and back-peddling to that position only signals a tone of defeat. Four, your Tech Bubble talk is so silly, it's not worth an ounce of anyone's energy. And five, have you ever been told you have an anger issue? I would bet quite a sizeable amount of money that this isn't the 1^st time you've been asked that.

Kacki you claim to be a Republican but are trying to list the UN as if they aren't scared of their own shadows (the inspectors were pulled by the UN, not Saddam and could have gone back in when they wanted) ? What would Coffee Cup have done if he wanted the inspectors back in,sent Saddam a stern memo?? I wish the UN would have shown some back bone but they were busy taking kickbacks from Oil for Food!! I only get angry at people who try to rewrite reality or can't disagree without resorting to insults (you are from the former or you might really think I have anger management issues!!)!! I'm sick of both parties which is one of the reasons discussions of Iraq get me "passionate" (plus dealing with combat losses in '05, '06 and '08) 2BCT 1AD OIF 05-06 OIF 08-09

In the words of Saddam Hussein:

"It doesn't matter what I say they are going to attack me anyway."

To Fred of N.C.:

You are just going in circles now like a dog chasing his own tail. You know what happens to them, don't you? But to help you understand, here's the following:

When you quoted Wikipedia (?!), vu quoted the U.N., dear. All I did was give vu better sources than Wikipedia.

As for "re-writing reality," I crown thee King.

To your "you claim to be Republican," you will learn further in down the road in your young life that even your party can greatly disappoint you. I helped vote Bush/Cheney in in 2000 and had the Democrats given any kind of decent alternative in 2004, I would have helped vote them out. And BTW that's what happened nationwide in 2008 – Republicans voted for the Democratic candidate.

The only thing you didn't directly answer, I noticed, was about this not being the 1st time you've heard the term "anger issue." I mean, you were the one using the F bombs, son. It's recorded for all time just like Bush/Cheney, chiseled in the proverbial historical stone, not to be undone by anyone. May be able to Wikipedia-it one day if you make something of your life LOL.

First off I ain't your son and if you think I have anger issues on an internet forum call me son to my face and see how that works out. I rejoined the military at an age when most career folks are retired (43) and made not one but two visits to Iraq, (the first was a sliver of OIF 05-06 during the worst part of the insurgency when we were losing a half dozen soldiers a week. the second was the full 14+ month deal where we rewrote the rules by walling off the insurgents in Sadr City and had a better operation with no MOS'd MPs than most MP units operating a Detainee Housing Annex along with hundreds of miles of successful convoy security operations) If all your life amounts to is snide comments on an internet forum you saying "if one day you make something of your life" is the pot calling the kettle black!!!

To Fred of N.C.:

Well, I do apologize, for I had no idea based on your comments that you had anything remotely promising in you. But it does help to explain some of your F bombs, although nothing really justifies that in a Newsvine thread. And I must say you'd be in for quite a shock if we were face to face. You've made the small-minded mistake of taking Kacki to mean I must be frail or female or both. You may have more on your hands than just dust when it's over, Son. You can that to the bank.

Like I said call me son face to face and you may quickly regret it regardless of party affiliation. I might actually walk away since I've always tried to avoid confrontations, but when I can't it will always ends badly for the other guy!! I probably would have dealt with your post in a different manner if I had thought you were female!

To Fred G. from N.C.:

You are one confused cat! You can’t decide where to stand. You "always tried to avoid confrontations"? What an acorn. You are the epitome of a confrontational sad-sack:

· Years and years of inspectors sent into Iraq my a$$!

· BULL$H*T there weren't four years without inspectors !!

· Clinton/AlGore HAD TO KNOW was going to be shipped intact to F**KING INDIA !!!

· Call me son to my face and see how that works out.

· Call me son face to face and you may quickly regret it

· It will always ends [sic] badly for the other guy!!

I thought calling you "son" was better than calling you "boy" or “childish” or such, but perhaps I should have cut to the chase. I bet paranoia is your constant companion (or so the science of psychology suggests) because only someone with those kinds of suspicions would display this level of unfettered aggression and call someone out over a silly Internet thread! You’re just like that dog chasing a car – you think you'll be a brut to the thing but there's nothing you can do when you catch it, and that 2-ton target just ends up rolling right over vu and others come along and flatten what's left (I know, I know, you're a big toughie! Save me the response; I already know what you're going to say, blah, blah, blah). Anyone who spews like this over a Newsvine article has a great many issues (but it's been very entertaining, I must give you that - I'll be copying this for days and handing them out over and over). Maybe you need to go back into the service so you can actually get rid of some of this aggression rather than being stuck in a room banging on a keyboard. Poor North Carolina. You have to feel sorry for them. Ye-ha/chuckle, chuckle!

People who say we should not care must have no concept of being citizens of Planet Earth and must swim in a very small pond. The history lost with these artifact theives robs all of us...the history is our world's history. I am saddened at the loss.

Chad- one of the most calm and logical posts.Even if they could not be fully trained, might give them some sense of pride.As far as the "not knowing what exists""never fully excavated" makes this article an oxymoron- why not find troops to protect, and lets do some digs.You see if you have national pride- maybe , and are not fearful ofmiles of desert- this might be a nation of change

It is really sad to me that these sites are being desecrated and the folks in charge of protecting them have so little local support. I agree some sort of global institute to protect these sites worldwide would be nice but they wouldn't have the authority to protect the sites any more than the local guy. It's like the man said: "I am protecting them... With what? Words?"

Short of having armed encampments guarding these places, tomb raiding will continue to be a problem sadly.

"It belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones

Agree with your post. Wonder why others don't see this.

well said

what the hell are you talking about stop bashing the united states ...... we went to iraq to stop the murders by saddam and his sons they were ruthless and had no concern for human life . how would you like to be lowered into a wood chipper feet first or have your wife or daughter raped by those animals? are you serious ? i'm so tired of people blaming the united states for the war in iraq we have helped countries by sending food and aid and billions of dollars and then they stand back and shake their fists in our face... you need to think before you speak

Jherek tell us again of the wise leadership of the benevolent Saddam. Sorry dude but no amount of anti Bush spin makes it anything but a good thing that Saddam is gone and the Iraqis are in charge of their own future. While I find this story sad and troubling I also find it reflects poorly on the ELECTED Iraqi leadership which is still better than any possible future the Iraqis had under Saddam!!

JimBill - You stated "we went to iraq to stop the murders by saddam and his sons..." That's kinda funny, since Cheney and Bush told us we were going into Iraq because of their nuclear and chemical weapons.

You Repugs are actually quite terrible at rewriting history, kinda like you're so terrible at running govt - maybe that's why you hate it so much.

"i'm so tired of people blaming the united states for the war in iraq..." If not the USA, then which country is to be blamed? The Europeans turned out to be right and us wrong on the WMD issue - the REAL reason the war was sold on.

Your name sounds kinda hillbilly-like. Guess what, Bubba? I counted 5 capitalization/grammatical errors in just the first line of your idiotic right-wing rant. Typical of conservative commenters to show lack of intelligence in writing, just like in thinking.

If you write sloppy you think sloppy. There should be an intelligence test for voters in this country. That'd get rid of the religious right!

And the moveon.org/code pink/huffingtonpost left(There should be an intelligence test for voters in this country. That'd get rid of the religious right) !

Jimmybilly, I do actually think before I speak rather than suck up the propaganda and then spew it out again like yourself. It's good old boys like you who feed the military-industrial complex by marching off to war or shipping off your sons to war every time a politician says, "Sick 'em boy!" and you go barking and slavering in search of your supposed enemy, only to get your balls handed to you on a platter. Remember Viet Nam? Y'all done real good there, dinchya Bubba? Well try and remember my post when sometime over the next ten years Iraq is once again a dictatorship.

Fred, Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator but he was not the enemy of the us. Read my original post and you will see that I state there that he was a dictator. The war in Iraq was nothing to do with Bush. Bush was just another puppet President following orders of the real powers that rule the USA. Wake up and look a bit beyond your nose and your damn fool partisan politics which are just a dog and pony show designed to distract you from the Big Money criminals who are gutting the USA.

Jherek Ive read your previous posts and I see a pattern. You are one of those people that think you know everything about everything. You are from UK, I don't think you are in any position to speak about who is an enemy of the US. In almost all your posts you speak your mind and think it is gospel but when someone has an opinion they must be wrong because it doesn't conicide with your propaganda. Then you attempt to belittle that person. Does that make you feel like a big man, does that make you feel superior. I'm sick of your kind of people that troll the forums and put people down, it seems like by your numerous posts that you have no life all you do is sit on your computer and make yourself feel good by making others feel bad.

Really?? REALLY??? You unpatriotic son of a gun... just because you are a greedy bastard doesn't mean that everyone else is.

I'm an independent, have been since 2004 and before that was a Democrat! You need to quit watching Michael Moore movies and butt wipe like that loose change BULL$H*T. I may not have agreed with the timing of our removal of Saddam but don't think there wasn't plenty of justification to do so, all of it provided by his belligerence!!

Jherek Carnelian, is correct. Our biggest enemy are the Corporations and the World Banks.

Bush is not the only Republicans that support the Corporations and World Banks because all the Republican leaders do, they are all Fascists. We had a huge pro-fascist movement prior to WWII and it was all headed up by Republicans.

Fred G. I used to vote Republican and am still a registered Republican, however I am not loyal to any party lines. I used to be loyal Republican until after voting for Bush in the 2000 election and the fiasco that occurred in Florida, I started digging deeper. The Florida votes were tampered with by Jeb Bush, George's Brother. The U.S. Supreme Court even warned Jeb against his activities but Jeb ignored the warnings anyway and why should he bother heading the U.S. Supreme Courts warnings, the Bush's are above prosecution.

You want to talk about coincidences? We invaded Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban had reneged on an agreement to allow Esso Oil to build a pipeline from Kazakhstan to Pakistan.

Bush and Cheney both own interests in Oil and have a large group of oil tycoon friends. They got into office through ballot tampering and we invade Afghanistan to remove the Taliban.

It wasn't about terrorism, it was about money. When ever Bush was questioned about our occupation of Afghanistan, he was like watching Tattoo from Fantasy Island "The Plane! The Plane!" because all he would do was repeat "We have to fight the Terrorists, We have to fight the Terrorists."

When Bush heard about the Trade Center going down, he just sat there in the classroom for several hours undisturbed by the news.

Damn there sure are a lot of "alleged" Republicans spouting the gospel according to Michael Moore on this vine (and I've never been a Republican but I sure have a working BULL$H*T detector) !! What I wanna know about this magical pipeline that explains everything is it's been nine years and 5 of them were with Republicans in charge of the White House and BOTH HOUSES of Congress and yet there's NO PIPELINE!! Why is that?? Is it invisible (I guess that confirms the magic of it!!)??? Last but least the only place "W" was in that classroom more that a few minutes after the news was in Michael Moore's movies (it's called a loop) !! It thought the story was Air Force One flew to a safe location and you libbies were upset the President didn't head straight back to DC?? Is that not good enough any more so the classroom story needs an overhaul??

Fred G. from N.C., et al:

Saddam Hussein never did a DAMNED thing to us. There was no Taliban, no AlQueida, no terrorists in Iraq and the vast majority of Iraqi's were far better off under Saddam. He may have been a monster, but he was OUR monster.

President George H.W. Bush was far wiser than his cowboy, big-mouthed son. He left Saddam in power because he knew Saddam kept the region stable. Never in the history of the United States have we conducted preemptive wars, and the result of our invasion has been pure chaos.

Now WE have to deal with Iran, instead of letting Saddam deal with it.

Way to go, W., the big Dick Cheney, and all the other power-mad, money-mad thugs who got us into this quagmire.

The vast majority of Iraqis were far better off under Saddam. Yeah, except for the hundreds of thousands who died in his little tussle with Iran,the Kurds that he gassed, the people who tried to revolt after Desert Storm or anyone else he decided was a threat!! Sorry there are many very legitimate reasons to have opposed our involvement in Iraq but Saddam wasn't one of them. He was a murderous tyrant with an enormous body count. My favorite moment of the time I was in Iraq was seeing the smiling faces and purple stained fingers of those who voted (in January,2009). In many cases they risked their lives to do that and yet they thanked us for providing security!!

Wow! Someone called themselves "Jherek Carnelian is a Troll"!

I have my own stalker. How exciting.

The thing is "Troll" ( may I call you Troll?), I am the smartest person in the world and I know everything. It is all about me. Get used to it.

I am in fact so very interesting, that I capture the attention of people like you. That really boosts my ego and verifies for me that I am always right.

It is sad for you though. My sincere condolences.

Has been said...? What is your source? Do not place blame unless you have facts.

What evidence do you have of this? I'd like to read more.

Your post reads more like a hollywood b-rated piece. Facts and references seem missing in your post. Fun read. Perhaps a little too foil hat for me.

B.S!

Some people will believe anything! Bet you think there are aliens in area 51 that the govt is hiding from us too. The only aliens in that area are the kind that need to go back to Mexico.

You need a serious med. change! This is definately up there with some of the worst urban legends I've ever heard. Who, what, where, when, why, how? Journalism 101! W/o even a shred of proveable evidence, I might as well believe in a "Sphagetti Monster."

The Vatican has done more to protect and preserve artifacts of world history than any other institution.

Source please- A.Smith- if you cannot blame the republicans now blaming Vatican? Hope God does not read your post.That is a discouraging thing to say w no source, and is hearsay, someone told someone, and I am telling you.
SOURCE?

your comments are so stupid they barely deserve a response. Did you just get done reading the Da Vinci Code? What crack pot internet site did you read that on?

what is your source- people magazine? entertainment tonight?

Don't you people know that the best and most reliable source of information is"My cousin whos friend told him that his brother in law heard it from a very reliable source who heard it from his brother so its just a fact" and so on and on :)

Smith, do you really believe this crap you are spouting?

Haha swr88 I was wondering he had just read the DaVinci Code also. What a load of crap! (not the book....the post)

A. Smith has been enjoying his time on line during summer vacation!! You might want to study some educational sites and not www.conspiracy theories.com!! Enjoy the rest of your summer and be ready, the 9th grade is gonna be hard!!

I wouldn't put it past the Vatican. I'm so glad I left their cruel, ignorant, idiotic religion. A religion run by and for those who want to eat the flesh of animals. Yes they edited out the part about being vegetarian and even had to discuss whether women had souls. The moronic black-clad body and blood of christ eating and drinking morons.

As for tomb theft, it does rob us all. Just remember there are no ' border lines' on planet earth. Borders only exist on man made paper. There are good and bad people everywhere. I blame Bush for the war but I also agree Saddam was a menace.

Everything is a conspiracy, huh?

The Vatican has always been a source for corruption so what else is new.

The Vatican support the Nazis in Germany and many of the Catholic priests were card carrying Nazis. The Vatican helped launder plunder for the Nazis and assisted the Nazi war Criminals to escape to Argentina.

So if anyone wants to think the Catholic Church is holier then thou or that the Pope is the closest thing to GOD, forget it.

Any support for the Catholic Church is the same as supporting the Mafia as far as I'm concerned, they are an abomination to the Christian faith.

As a lapsed Catholic, I say I wouldn't put ANYTHING past the Vatican, which has a long, corrupt history of murder, hypocrisy, greed and perversion of the Christian faith. Nothing the Vatican does to cover its lies (and its ass) surprises me.

The Catholic Church has more blood on its hands than all the dictators and war mongers in the history of the world.

Read your history, folks. It ain't pretty.

Tinfoil!! Aisle 9!!

Xtglamour says, "Everything is a conspiracy, huh?"

A conspiracy is two or more people deciding to take an action for a common purpose, usually covertly (i.e. they hide their plan from others). So your explanation of history is what? That everything happens by accident or spontaneously and no-one ever plans any secret activities with others? History is all "accidental" with no cause and effect?

You can believe that is you wish but my observations of humanity would indicate that there is a cause and effect to all human activity and that cause stems from human planning and action, whether known or unkown, whether overt or covert; and not as a result of accident and chance.

We invaded their country, destroyed their institutions and killed their leaders. Then we walk away and now we waggle our fingers at them because they are not functioning perfectly. The purpose of the invasion was not to help Iraq, it was to protect Israel. Maybe if we leave them alone they will figure it out for themselves.

They have been looted enough by Americans and Europeans. Maybe the state of California should try paying their own bills for a change.

Traylor.... I couldnt agree more... I even had a little laugh with that too :)

Californians pay more for gas than anywhere else in the Continental United States. Why is that? My wage isn't any more than that of someone living in Arkansas.

Pete Wilson deregulated the price of electricity in California, then Grey Davis took office and the power companies outside California increased the rates from $36/kwh to $9999/kwh. That alone put California in debt $9 billion.

Traylor, maybe you should think a little more before making such comments.

Iraq has not existed for 'thousands of years'. Winston Churchill created it at his desk in the Foreign office with a map and a ruler without ever seeing the place. The people who lived there had lived in peace for thousands of years until Europeans and Americans invaded it, carved it up into artificial countries and 'spheres of influence' with planted puppet governments and alien institutions. They have been persistently invaded and reinvaded, governments planted then ripped up, then replaced again so the west can exploit their resources. Nothing the West has done to the Middle East in the last 92 years has been done for the good of the people who live there. And now arrogant westerners make snide remarks about their "nomadic, tribal culture." Maybe if we permitted them to develop their own institutions instead of partially transplanting parts of our own, their country would function better.

talkingfingers you could not be anymore right.

Bring the soldiers home, let them do there destruction.

Where are the Iraqis taking any responsibility here? Where have the Iraqis taken any responsibility in safeguarding their own country? I've been over there 5 times, and 5 times nothing had changed in the corruption of Iraqi police and military. You want to complain about someone's troops failing at safeguarding oil rigs or museums, there is your target, not the US military. Or better yet, grab a rifle and stand a watch, deploy on an 18 hour mission, smell the stench of burnt garbage and rotting bodies in 100 degree heat, get stop lossed twice after 20 years of service. Maybe you will think twice about using the phrase 'American troops failed.' Pathetic.

There are no innocents in war.

Yes it's a tragedy Gene-746464. However, when did you step up. Typical B.S. from people that don't have a clue!

Saddam is the one who allowed his own people to starve and suffer. If you remember the first Gulf War was because of his aggressive actions. The UN sanctions were made to stop him from doing it again. He diverted all resources to what he wanted and not to what the people needed. The fact that you refer to it as the holocaust is out of line. You are blaming the US for the death of a people in the same way that the nazis tried to kill every jew during World War II. It is sad.

Dave, You ask agreat question. The answer lies not with the students, but with the teachers.

"The american politicians" are the teachers, the Iraqi's are the students. The only statement that comes is relevant here is...."Do as I say, not as I do". Does anyone anywhere in the world think a government trained by US politicians is not going to be selfserving and corrupt?

Just look at the pathetic example of government in Washington D.C., protecting it's citizens? NO protecting it's natural resources? NO corrupt? YES

Any questions?

dave dennon- Thank you for your service Dave, it is truly appreciated!!

Gene how come your little post fails to mention that the same year (1996) a program called "Oil for Food" which originated in '91 was expanded by the UN as an answer to the rise in infant mortality that was due to Saddam directing resources to rebuilding his crushed army and weapons stockpile (or so we thought ) . As it turned out the resources of "Oil for Food" never helped Iraqi children but they did help Saddam rebuild a couple of his castles (I've seen one,it's nice) as well as a couple of new ones (which I've seen one of as well,we use it as a sort of hotel now) and they lined the pockets of UN officials,including Coffee Cup Anon's son!! While the deaths of children are always regrettable DON'T YOU DARE try and talk out of both sides of your mouth!! Those deaths were the FAULT OF SADDAM HUSSEIN and were enabled by the INEPT UN!! If Saddam had ever cooperated with the agreements he signed in '91 to end the Desert Storm beating the sanctions would have almost certainly been lifted (remember there were 8 years of a Democrat President from '93 to '01) but he didn't and they weren't!!

SWR88 - You are so right, Saddam was a terrible person who allow some of his people to starve but also had one of the most open societies in the Middle East where girls were allowed to be educated unlike Saudi Arabia (our best buddies), education was free from kindergarden to University, they had Sate of the art health facilities and free health-care for everyone. I agree that the man was a bastard but it also did a log of good for his people (the ones not trying to overthrow him) and kept order in that country (no tomb raiding, bombing etc.).It is funny how when AMERICA was supplying him with weapons and yes, Weapons of Mass Distruction i.e. chemical weapons during their fight against Iran we kind of "overlooked what a bastard he was. He only became a bastard when he tried to invade Kuwait to control one of the largest oil reserves and access the sea. Weird how our perception of what makes on a "bastard" change when oil in involved.

Dave Dennon - Thanks for your service. However, the fact that you endured hardships and spent much time in Iraq doesn't in any way justify the lies that started this illegal war. Saddam was a cruel dictator, but there are worse dictators than Saddam that we leave alone. The women in Iraq say they were safer before we invaded, as Saddam actually maintained rule of law in the civilian population, there were no roving rape gangs. We will abandon Iraq after destroying it, then Iran's influence will come into play and just watch what happens.

Bush's War-To-Prove-His-Manhood will, in the long term, turn out to play right into Iran's hands.

Another poster tells of the enlightened world of Iraq under Saddam. Sorry Allmill2 but we knew way before Saddam invaded Kuwait what a sadistic f**k he was and were very wary of him even when we supported him against Iran.

Gene, you are crossing a line with your whole "mini-holocaust" BS. Seriously, you need to think long and hard about what kind of crap you say...

Thanks Dave for your words! Crappy people like Gene need to be forced to listen to reason and perspective from those who have actually seen it, not those who sit on their fat asses and make useless assumptions...

Good point.

I'm sure some of these "treasures" will be traded for a goat!

Reading this stuff about the looting of all these priceless national treasures of Iraq is a bit confusing to me. How does one place a value on all these unseen national treasures? As clearly stated, they have no idea what all has been taken... They have not seen it... So how do they know it's even missing? For all intents and purposes, it's quite possible serious lootings took place over a millenium ago. They obviously haven't records of all lootings, do they? Some, yes, but not all I suspect. As far as finding broken pottery and such scattered on the desert - maybe that's all that was found. Again, no one really knows. There seems to be a considerable amount of speculation going on as to the value of all these untold and unseen treasures. Apparently the Iraqi people aren't too terribly concerned themselves. If they were, then perhaps they should be stepping up THEIR efforts instead of trying to pass the blame or filing a claim. Realizing the vast expanse of the area, of course, should be taken into account. Something else that could be taken into account also is - How does a looting operation even show up at a supposed site with a bulldozer and no one notices that until they are long gone? It's truly one of the new wonders of the world, isn't it? As confusing as any of the other mysteries in life.

I'm sure we have those things in museums already. The things looted is probably jewelry and gold that will be melted down.

excaliburgc and Robert Karp,

I don't pretend that this should matter to you, but these treasures do not belong to us, at ANY price, as they are priceless.

True, very true.... They are as priceless as they are sightless. Intangible treasures can't really belong to anyone.

Why not take a vote and see if the rest of the world gives a dam about the American people? What have we ever done that "pretains" to the world? We invade, kill, destroy and ruin their country and blame them because their country is a mess.

Traylor-291146:

We invaded Europe, killed and destroyed, and yes, there was some ruination of the countries.....but we beat the sh!t out of the Nazis and stopped Hitler from turning all of Europe into a dictatorship! Would you have it that we didn't? Iraq was a "mess" long before we went there.....say around 2000 years or so! Have you not seen what it looks like there? Kinda' like the stone age! It's hard to feel too much remorse about damaging a stone hut or a tent...or maybe a cave. Smarten up, these people have lived like this for centuries and it would appear that that's the way they like it.

Yes but Bob, after that war we turned around and reinstated all those Nazi War Criminals back to their former positions, we recruited some of them into our very own CIA and medical organizations. We masked their criminal war records and immigrated them to the United States. Of the Nazi War Criminals that were convicted in Tribunals by the United States, they were given light sentences and released by 1950.

Furthermore, Bob, had Herbert Hoover been President, instead of Roosevelt, we'd have been fighting on the side of Germany because the majority of the Republican Party were Nazi sympathizers and some were card carrying Nazis. We had our own share of anti-communist and anti-Semitic propaganda circulating over the airwaves and periodicals in the United States. We had a Government Sanctioned KKK revived to persecute minorities, we had the Silver Shirts that persecuted minorities, we had the American Legion formed to persecute the Labor Unions and we had the promotion of Eugenics. California alone performed 38,000 cases of eugenics and all the other states ranked about 4000 cases each.

We had over 300 Companies that were involved in Cartels formed by IG Farben, who was Hitler's financial advisor. These companies held up our being able to launch a full scaled attack on Germany until late in the war. The Bush family obtained the majority of their wealth from Prescott's dealings with Nazi Germany before and during the war. Most of our companies were trading with Germany throughout the war and had their trading masked by Wall Street that is Republican dominated and routed their goods through Argentina. Argentina and Germany have always had a close relationship.

It was mostly the work of Russia that conquered Germany, we came into the war after most of the work was already done.

We did dominate Japan.

Good one!

You are being Imperialistic.

There is nothing that says you are any smarter than any Iraqi.

They would be able to protect themselves better if we hadn't invaded them and destroyed their army. The whole world would rather see our troops stay home instead of wrecking other people's countries.

Traylor-291146:

You need to read up on history and throw in some current events. Try to glimpse beyond that wide screen TV.

"They would be able to protect themselves better if we hadn't invaded them and destroyed their army"

A. They NEVER had an army, hence the reason our troops recruited and trained a military...

B. We have done more re-building in that country than the country has done for itself. Have you been there? Do you know what the country looked like 10 years ago? Do you know what it looks like now? That's right, you don't. I think you may need to check your tv, make sure it's actually plugged in. Oh, and your reading materials eveidently suck as well.

What does our President's color of skin have to do with the facts.....HE HAS done more for the US than any other President has in less then TWO YEARS. The only part of your posting that isn't ridiculous is the part about losing too many young men to this war..

I am not defending any racist statements about the President, but what has he done in the last 2 years that makes it more than any other President? The War in Afghanistan continues to go badly...even his generals think he is a joke. Healthcare is far from over as nothing has changed yet. The economy is still in the toilet. States are coming up with crazy immigration laws because of no action by the Feds. The gulf is a worse nightmare every day. Finally, the Democrats are on their way to losing the majority they earned. What about that is positive? I liked the President but I think he has been a dud so far.

Laura, I agree. Obama has done more in two years than any other president. Unfortunately, everything he has done has been for his own gain and very damaging to both this country and the rest of the world. Just look at the gulf of mexico. Our Navy has crews trained to recover warheads, fuel rods and "sensitive" information in the case of a system failure on one of our submarines. They are trained to be on the site in under 24 hours, secure the warheads and fuel rods in under 72 hours and destroy the rest in under 120 hours. It doesn't matter where at or how deep. The oil pipe is child's play. It could have been sealed in under 72 hours. Obama doesn't want it sealed, this is his excuse to take over the energy markets and he doesn't care how much damage it causes as long as he gets what he wants.

This is one case where the unknown is almost gaurenteed to be better than the known, we deperately need a President. NOW!

The concern does have more than oil, but your Ministry of Propoganda (that would be CNN, MSNBC, etc.) has indoctrinated you into believing that. You are the one who forgets the past, an example would be how you believed you would win WWII because The Leader had a miracle weapon.