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6th – those in cuba are not US citizens, doesn’t apply

Yes it does apply. The United States has signed the Geneva Conventions and Washington has until now at least pretended to uphold them, often times accusing other countries or governments of violating them. Regardless of their nationality, American or otherwise, their treatment is grounds for Washington officials to face war crimes charges…then again American citizens are exempt from the International Court at the Hague, which leads much of the world to resent the US and what they see as a biased global system that serves Washington. Second, Gunatanamo Bay which is not considered US territory is in fact US territory…land leased by a country is as good as land owned, otherwise a huge chunk of Hong Kong wouldn’t have been considered a legal part of the UK during its 99-year lease from China. Guantanamo Bay may not be part of any State, but it is still US territory even if it holds a bizarre adminstrative status. And third, all human beings who find themselves on a particular country’s soil are subject to that coutry’s laws regardless of nationality. Citizens and non-citizens alike are subject to the country’s prosecution laws as well as that country’s legal protections as long as they are on that country’s soil. The fact that the Guantanamo prisoners are not American citizens is not a legal justification for their mistreatment. It’s just propoganda to sidestep accusations made against Washington.

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quote:If you believe there is any other reason for the coalition occupation of Iraq beside money for contractors… You are a fool.

Yea so Iraq and Afghanistan were bombed in order to make money off of the reconstruction, gives a whole new meaning to renovation now doesn’t it? Thats pretty smart considering the actual missles were worth more than most of their targets. Try sticking to the oil arguement, it’s much more plausible.

It’s actually not a far-fetched idea. Rebuilding contracts may not have been the sole reason for Bush to invade Iraq, but they certainly were plenty of reason for Halliburton and those connected to it (like vice-president Cheney) to support and endorse the war. They knew the financial benefit that was in there for them, thus they influenced Bush’s foreign policy to their liking. No surprise, then, at the announcement that only American companies would be able to bid for contracts in the US-admininstered Iraq. And the winner of the bid? Halliburton, of course. The war may have created debt for the United States and the American people, but it created profit for Halliburton.

I have to agree with Sunny Girl here. To call her the hater is quite the twist. She’s the one who has love for human life, and respect for justice, truth and freedom. All of you who are hating on her are the haters. To not oppose something like this war you have to be a total dough face and be completely ignorant or a 100% moral coward. Would she be a "hater" or a "scumbag" if she spoke out against Jeffery Dahmer or Hitler? That would be rediculous. This guy is just looking for a place where he can rape after he has pillaged. If you have ever known or seen American soldiers the way they behave in public in other peoples’ countries is about as dispicable as the way they behave in war time. One doesn’t have to have watched Born on the Fourth of July to understand what a baby killer is, but it might help those of you who don’t understand what moral justice or freedom is.

Politics if you can really call it that. It’s more like human rights that affects us all including travel. It’s a little deeper than just &quotolitics." It’s because of Bush and his war for oil that has made it totally unsafe for Americans to travel in the world.

This will pretty much sum up what US military and "foreign policy" the PC term for US government sponsored terrorism is all about. This quote from a US Marine Corps General is more true now than it was ever before so don’t anyone DARE spew any nonsense about it being a different era.

US Marine Corps – ‘High Class Gangsters For Wall Street’

Major General Smedly D. Butler headed the Marine Corps for many years when he wrote this article in Common Sense in the November,1935 issue:

"There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" (to point out enemies), its "muscle men" (to destroy enemies), its "brain guys" (to plan war preparations), and a "Big Boss" (supernationalistic capitalism).

"It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to do so. I spent 33 years and four months in active military service as a memeber of our country’s most agile military force — the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to Major General. And during that period I spent more of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for captialism.

"I suspected I was just a part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military profession I never had an original thought until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

Thus I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and CUba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-12. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that the Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

"During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. I was rewarded with honors, medals and promotion. Looking back on it, I feel I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three city districts. I operated on three continents." ___

This has gotten so long. Maybe you should just make a list of what you want on this trip, all in one spot as it’s hard to go back and find all your posts. Is budget any issue? I don’t know if they just pay your flight or all expenses. You’ve mentioned partying and women. Is there anything else you’re interested in in Europe? I mean, if you want to relax as well then somewhere like Ibiza may not be ideal. It just depends on what you’re looking for.

It’s one thing to just sit back and watch it, but it’s quite another to actually SUPPORT it. I couldn’t believe the posts from people here supporting the wholesale murder and slaughter of innocent people in their own land because you sick scum bags want cheap gas at the pumps.

And if you don’t think it is about oil why do you think the price of oil rose during the quagmire in Najaf? Why do you think oil prices are so high? Because they aren’t able to pump it out because of the brave Iraqi souls fighting off the oil company whores. Why is all this happening during a time when half the administration in the Whitehouse has huge holdings in the oil business! "Happening? "I mean you have got to be utterly STUPID not to put this together. Why is Halliburton Oil, Dick Cheney’s oil company the major dealer in the "reconstruction" (You know the VICE PRESIDENT what a coincidence there eh! Not at all) Why was the military openly saying they are protecting oil wells and pipelines while they blew little girls heads off?

If you actually harbor the fantasy it had something to do with Saddam because he was a "cruel dictator" why does the US harbor and support cruel dictators around the world? You do realize Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines spent his last days in Honolulu, Hawaii USA? I know because I was there, there is controversy there with Imelda still living there in riches. That the US supports the dictatorships of Myanmar, backed the indonesian massacre of East Timor, backed the recent coup in Haiti and one happening in El Salvador, and is repeatedly trying to stage a coup in Venezuela against Hugo Chavez. Why? Venezuela is the 4th leading producer of oil for the United States and god forbid he wanted to give 30% of the oil revenues to his people instead of the 17% the middlemen oil companies wanted to flick out. To add he’s giving some of the unused land out to the poor in his country so the rich power and land holders don’t like it so they are supporting any coup they have and are asking the Bush administration for pointers!

It isn’t dictators or human rights the Corporations and Military Industrial Complex is interested in, it’s interested in Business and how much they can steal from underpriviledged innocent people at the expense of the American tax payers. I don’t say the "US" because the US people aren’t a part of it, hell they don’t even know it’s happening. They live in a disneyworld information vacuum going about their lives pie faced and ignorant, so ignorant that they will actually support murder and holocaust to the point outsiders would think they belong in an maximum security insane assylum. That’s what is happening and has been happening in Iraq for the past 10 years with the sanctions, depleted uranium, poisoning of the water supply and weekly bombings. An all out government sanctioned Holocaust both in Iraq and Palestine. It’s one thing where scattered groups of independent terrorists attack innocent civilians it’s quite another when a Nation’s GOVERNMENT sanctions, supports and commits acts of international terrorism like shooting down of civilian Airliners where 290 innocent civilians are murdered. Here at the bottom is a list of atrocities the Military Industrial Complex has committed against the people of the just the middle east. http://www.globaliss…

What’s more is US military personnel are perpetually stupid, always failing to listen to the generation of wounded and veterens before them that the government has snubbed and forgotten; especially Republicans in the government who cut their medical and retirement benefits time after time. Thousands of American soldiers have died
from "gulf War syndrome" that appears pretty much just like radiation poisoning. Just check this search out how the US government treats it’s soldiers after they have used them for their dirty politics. http://www.google.co…

I suggest we take this thread to the pub where we can discuss the ins and outs of the war.

That way carrasquillo69 can start a new thread where he doesn’t mention he’s a soldier, we all pretend we don’t know and just give travel advice while keeping our opinions about the war out of it .