Egypt recalls ambassador to Israel

[Apache]

While we have our eyes turned to the problems in our house, and rightly so, the Middle East tension is ever increasing.

Speaking for myself, the occurrences there are of great importance as well.

[Ripsnort]

Bet the U.S.election process would come to a quick end if tanks started rolling from Syria and Egypt again.

[Gunthr]

I have a feeling we are in for some troubled times up ahead with the Middle East. China is flexing her muscles too, and preparing for possible future armed conflict with the US, whom it considers a threat. The guy who wins this election might be facing some real tough challanges.

[-ammo-]

 

Originally posted by Gunthr:
The guy who wins this election might be facing some real tough challanges.

It is the Country as a whole that will be in for some tuff times. In particular the US armed forces. Of coarse the current administration in power in the US has spoon fed the Chinese valuable technology.

[StSanta]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the economy - no matter who wins. If Gore wins and it keeps being good, he'll take responsibility. If it turns bad, he'll cite bad cooperation from the senate. If Bush wins and it turns sour, he'll say that "that's just the times baby. Some are bad, some are good". If it keeps good, he'll say the same.

Just talking economy here  .

------------------
StSanta
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"
while(!bishRookQueue.isEmpty() && loggedOn()){
30mmDeathDIEDIEDIE(bishRookQueue.removeFront());
System.out.println("LW pilots are superior");
myPlane.performVictoryRoll();
}

[Sparks]

 

Originally posted by Gunthr:
..... China is flexing her muscles too, and preparing for possible future armed conflict with the US, whom it considers a threat .....

I do wonder about our short term memory about China. Here we are busy fawning all over with a country with appalling human rights record because there a huge amounts of money to be made.

I remember at the time of the Tiananmen Square a BBC correspondent interviewed a Chinese political historian who was amused by our failure to understand the Chinese government's stonewall reaction to the West's protests. She told us to remember that Chinese leaders aren't looking for election term approval - they plan for 50 - 100 years time. They knew that in 5 - 10 years Tiananmen Sq would be a dim memory to Westerners and the lure of the Asian market would soon soften the edges of what hindsight our new leaders had. How right she was ........

Unfortunately I don't believe the Middle East will ever be a peaceful place but I do believe it will remain local. War has been a part of life there since the Romans and with so many fiercely religious groups there with opposing views how can they ever accept each other. The Western involvement in the Middle East will only continue as long as there is oil to be pumped and arms to be sold. European and latterly US involvement in the African and Middle Eastern Area has always been based on one premise - exploitation of the resources available - and our continued involvement will only be based on the continued access to the resource we want to exploit. See how quick US and UK troops would be in Nigeria if civil war broke out ....

China on the other hand is a more worrying place. The potential for massive power and a desire for Chinese strength in the long term. Our response ??? - study ? - understand and guard ourselves ? - no - earn the easy buck / pound and damn the consequences. I hope our children don't have to deal with those consequences.

Sparks

[1776]

Attention Europeans:You are on your own from this point on as the US military is unprepared to cya!!!  That's a fact!!!!
Our military is in the process of decline and a Gore administration will seal that!!!

The social engineering of the military will continue and our soldiers will leave service one by one, as they are doing now.  The ranks of the military will be filled with the "protected class" and prove ineffective.

I fully expect you in Europe to have to become the world super power!!

There is no one else!!!!

[Igloo]

The decline of the US military would have happened regardless of who was in power.  With the end of the cold war, the only option the government had was to shrink it a little.

I think you are all over doing China.  I highly doubt it will come to armed conflict.  The US wouldn't dare strike China.  Although, it strikes other, smaller, counties for the same thing China is doing.

[Rickenbacker]

Who says we need a damn "superpower" around?

Seems to me that all the US and the USSR, while they were around, did was support the dictatorships of their choice, because dictactorships are stable, and can be counted on to sell you cheap oil, bananas, cocaine or whatever, because there's one guy in control, and he doesn't want to get capped.

If democracy rears its ugly head it gets stomped on, except Israel, for some reason. Post WW2-guilt or what?