C. Rice frowning and scowling..

[azskyman]

Paolo...it is good to see you back. Really.

Your fears are well-founded, and just as though each country is "either with us or is against us" in the fight of terror, so to are they either "vulnerable to terror because of that fact or they aren't"

Taking a stand and being proactive these days is easy to pick apart. Seems sometimes that because we've cleaned up the mess in NYC that it never happened. But it did.

So too did the train bombings in Spain. Logic wants to tell us those bombings happened because of our commitment in Iraq. Truth is, things like that would have happened with or without Iraq. Terror is a cancer. It feeds on fear and frenzy.

If the proactive steps that have been taken drive terrorists to blow themselves up or crawl into underground holes, then so be it. It is better to have them feel some fear themselves than to let a minute number of them globally affect the masses at will.

We all hope and pray the war on terror will go away...but it will not do so by appeasing their wishes. That simply allows them to surface and carry out more ugly theatrics under whatever causes they feel they represent.

Now, sir...how is the weather in Rome these days. Great to have the skies over that beautiful city represented here.

[stormraiser]

Yes, welcome back Paolo. It's nice to hear back from you

[Guest]

I'm back because I can't avoid to express my idea, and what better place to express ideas where you know to be against the general view?
WAR IN IRAQ IS A BIG MISTAKE! and has caused terrorism to be stronger than ever.
I'm not against war on terror, I'm against war in Iraq.
Ask yourself: is the world a safer place? Are we living in fear?
Are we scared that at any moment a train, a ship, a car, a plane can
explode and kill hundreds of innocents?
War on terror is a war that shall be conducted in terms of police actions,
intelligence, reacting against terrorists before they act.
Terrorists hardly identify themsleves with a country, then bombing countries is not the system.
Iraq is a better place now? I guess not, simply because our democracy is
not the idea of democracy they have.
We live different, what is ok for us is a big offense for them.
Many analists around the world, not politicians but historical analists and
sociologists say this war is a mistake. The US presence there shall
be mantained for at least 50 years before having an appearance of peaceful life. Are you ready for this?
And Iraq, as we have dramatically proved, is not the terrorism's source.
All islamc countries are, even those supposed to be moderated or friends.
I see only one solution to this problem: islamic countries shall start to fight terrorism themselves, together to a big changing in our relationships. We are not the goods, they are not the evils. Our gods are not better, theirs are not better. They shall respect our believes and customs when living in our countries, we shall respect theirs.
We live in places where the human rights are (or should be) on top, they shall learn the same, at least when living in our countries.
Without talks, there's no end, and the world will be, in a larger scale, like Israel Vs Palestine.

Happy Easter to everybody

[vbhoutex]

Paolo!! Welcome Back!!

Well said!!! I may disagree with your reasoning on some things, but the end all is exactly as you said-WHEN EVERYONE ELSE RESPECTS EVERYONE ELSE AND THEIR BELIEFS(no it isn't quite that simple we all know)THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE KNOW PEACE ON THIS EARTH!!

Unfortunately we also know that the "infidels", COWARDS, as I call them, will not police themselves especially since they are operating under a bastardized form of their religion that glorifies dieing for the cause. This is, unfortunately, one of the biggest fllies in the ointment in the war on COWARDS(I REFUSE TO CALL THEM TERRORISTS!) that we will not soon be able to overcome. BUT WE MUST START SOMEWHERE AND FOR THAT REASON I SO SUPPORT PRESIDENT BUSH AND WHAT HE IS DOING!!

[chadtm80]

Rome wasnt built in a day there paolo.. Ofcaurse Iraq is not a calm peacefull place.. 50 years is about right if not under estamating. Im just glad that my country sees what has to be done, knows it will be long and hard but yet STILL decides to do something about it and not just sit back and say.. naaaaaa.. It will be to hard and take to long. Why bother

[streetsoldier]

Paolo, your assessment of Islam, particulary Wahabbi, is fundamentally flawed. These fanatics will NOT accept any other beliefs than their own (including Muslims who don't share them).

They are NOT acceptable to reason, they cannot be pacified, negotiated with...all they want is BLOOD, whether Italian, Spanish, American, British, or anyone else (including Muslim states) that DARES to confront them.

Their ultimate goal is a worldwide "Caliphate", all Wahhabi, with someone like Osama bin Laden issuing irrevocable "fatwas" (religious decrees that have the force of law), and supported by "morals police", whose power over life and death will be unquestioned.

Imagine all the world, run like Taliban Afghanistan, and that should give you some idea of this megalomania...NOW, you have reason to be concerned.

[Corona]

That's exactly right Streetsoldier.

[Lindaloo]

I'm back because I can't avoid to express my idea, and what better place to express ideas where you know to be against the general view?
WAR IN IRAQ IS A BIG MISTAKE! and has caused terrorism to be stronger than ever.
I'm not against war on terror, I'm against war in Iraq.
Ask yourself: is the world a safer place? Are we living in fear?
Are we scared that at any moment a train, a ship, a car, a plane can
explode and kill hundreds of innocents?
War on terror is a war that shall be conducted in terms of police actions,
intelligence, reacting against terrorists before they act.
Terrorists hardly identify themsleves with a country, then bombing countries is not the system.
Iraq is a better place now? I guess not, simply because our democracy is
not the idea of democracy they have.
We live different, what is ok for us is a big offense for them.
Many analists around the world, not politicians but historical analists and
sociologists say this war is a mistake. The US presence there shall
be mantained for at least 50 years before having an appearance of peaceful life. Are you ready for this?
And Iraq, as we have dramatically proved, is not the terrorism's source.
All islamc countries are, even those supposed to be moderated or friends.
I see only one solution to this problem: islamic countries shall start to fight terrorism themselves, together to a big changing in our relationships. We are not the goods, they are not the evils. Our gods are not better, theirs are not better. They shall respect our believes and customs when living in our countries, we shall respect theirs.
We live in places where the human rights are (or should be) on top, they shall learn the same, at least when living in our countries.
Without talks, there's no end, and the world will be, in a larger scale, like Israel Vs Palestine.

Happy Easter to everybody

Maybe you should tell that to the families of the victims who died in both towers and on those airplanes that were used as missiles. I doubt they share that same concern. Iraq supported terrorism and Hussein needed to go. All I can say is NEXT?

Your country needs to get with us too in this fight on terrorism instead of being afraid of it. That is exactly what they want you to be. But not the United States of America. All they did was tick us off!!

[streetsoldier]

..."bumping" this up so Paolo can find it...

[Guest]

no need to bump, I read only threads where I'm writing in

9/11: I guess families of those victims, like spanish families and every family involved in such dramatical events would see those that really did the crime to pay for their faults, rather to see a country under bombs.
You have all my support in fighting terrorism, let's strike terrorists everywhere in the world. None of us can call himself apart.
War to Iraq is just a big business for Mr Bush and his supporters.
I'm calling myself apart from it.
If we go on that way, and I'm afraid is the way you like, we will soon
decide that we are the goods. period. they are the evils. period. kill'em all.period.
Sorry, this is not my way.

[streetsoldier]

They have already made such a decision, Paolo...THEY are the "good ones", "servants of Allah", whose death will bring them slaves (those they have killed), virgins, milk and honey in their version of Paradise.

In the Wahabbi version of Islam, WE (whoever "we" are, that is, non-Wahabbis) are "evil", which grants THEM the "right" to kill, maim, torture and enslave us at will.

Maybe YOU, Paolo, can TRY to distance yourself...but, sooner or later, if these fanatics are NOT destroyed, you, or someone you know, will be either (a) killed, (b) maimed, (c) tortured, or (d) forcefully converted by the sword and the whip.

If you can live with that, it's your decision...we CAN'T, and WON'T.