Showing signs of weakness....

[muckmaw]

Countries who pledged troops to support the reconstruction of Iraq are now rethinking or retracting their decision after the truck bombing at the Italian compound.

What kind of message is the world sending to rogue states and terrorist supporting nations?

Give a country a bloody nose and no matter how strong it is, they will pull out?

That's what SH is counting on for the US. He's hoping popular support for this war will degrade to levels seen during Vietnam, allowing him to regain power.

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious for many on this board. I just thought it needed to be said, anyway.

We're sending the wrong message in my humble opinion.

http://www.yahoo.com/s/129685

[Tumor]

Well, considering it was the Italians who let Abu Abbas walk after the Achille Lauro incident....  no great loss if they leave.

[muckmaw]

Its more than the Italians..

Sorry, forgot the link...

http://www.yahoo.com/s/129685

[Ripsnort]

The liberals are loving it! Anything that makes the economy look bad, or Bush look bad in Iraq is good in their opinion.  Translated: Soldiers dying is a good thing in a liberals mind.

[Tumor]

Oh well, when the going gets tough.....

[fd ski]

So you applaud the guy when he pisses on everyone with differing opnion - and be assured every nation on this planet disagreed with Iraq sitation in terms of popular opnion.
Blair put his bellybutton on the line, and so did the other politicians in the "coalition of the willing".

Then, you cry because nobody wants to help you ?

If you thought it was a right idea to "go it alone", then that's just what we will have, we will "go it alone".

On the same subject, if you wanted a international cooalition to help rebuilding iraq, the job should have been turned over to US at cessation of hostilities. It would have been a great consolation gesture and would ensure more money and troops from all over the world.
But two things stood in the way of that : pride and money for Haliburton...

[muckmaw]

No one is complaing here, Ski. The coalition of the willing gets smaller every day.

Actually, I was pointing out how the will of a nation can be bent by a single, yet tragic incident.  

Is it a poilitcal survival instinct to pull the chicken switch the minute a soldier gets killed?

Do the people of these countries, including some in the US expect warfare to be bloodless? It would be wonderful, but we all know this is not the case.

[Yeager]

and money for Haliburton...
====
you one of the people that think the iraq war was for the purpose of getting billions of dollars of reconstruction money to a private firm who just so happens to be run by proxy by the vice president?

Some thiunk it was so the bush family could get its hands on iraqi oil.

[CyranoAH]

I find it only logical. Most of the people in countries such as Spain or Italy were completely against sending troops in the first place. So if troops from those countries start dying, it's not going to be good publicity for the government.

Daniel

[miko2d]

muckmaw: That's what SH is counting on for the US. He's hoping popular support for this war will degrade to levels seen during Vietnam, allowing him to regain power.

 Fortunately we have a great propaganda going here under direction of our magnificent leader..

 Didn't Bush say it was actually a sign of progress - the more foreigners they kill, ... er... the less there will be left to kill? Or something.

Actually, I was pointing out how the will of a nation can be bent by a single, yet tragic incident.

 Seriously, italians were against sending their troops from the very beginning. It was very stupid on the part of our government to get them - and many others - involved.
 Overestimating the abilities of allies is as bad as underestimating the abilities of the enemy.

 miko

[type_char]

Some of these terrorist cells actually have a brain. Italy should send more soldiers of course. I think anything less would be a mistake.

[fd ski]

muckmaw. you are assuming that will existed to begin with.
While i can't talk for all those nations, i can tell that in case of Poland, which has a bunch of people there on the ground, that people where overwhelmingly against sending our troops to Iraq. Government made a choice for whatever reason and people are stuck with it. So dead soldier ( and there was a Pole killed about a week ago ) doesn't weaver conviction, because there was no conviction to begin with. It gives the ammunition to the people who state that government did it for political reasons - and we all know that it did.

Government stated that all people who went to Iraq we volunteers. It now is starting to come out in polish press that it wasn't always a case. Lot of those people were coherced into going by threats of ending careers and such. And in the country with 20% unemployement, it is a serious threat.

[muckmaw]

Ski-

The will I spoke of was the will of the government...yours, mine, anyones.

It seems once a body bag is filled, the government that was so gung ho to either:

A)Free a Nation
B)find WMDs
C)Fight Terror
or
D) Make nice with the USA

suddenly wants to pull up stakes and head home.

Thats the message the world is sending, and it shows we lack conviction.

[miko2d]

Alternatively, the government in question may stick to the convictions and lose the next elections in favor of much more anti-american one.

 The Al-Qaeda could not hope for a better outcome.

 miko

[type_char]

I dont mean to sound like I am suggesting some sort of escelation of the war in terms getting more Italian military support. I'm not really even talking about that. Just from a tactical point of view, this event shows that what could happen has happened to the Italian forces already stationed there in Iraq. At the very least, if Italy will stay and support the US and its allies, I'm just suggesting that they need more security forces for themselves to ensure better security towards their own objectives. Of course until the overall plan of changing over to Iraqi security forces.