I am thankful ya'all are in Afghanistan, Evie, and believe that is most important! You smaller countries can only be involved in so many conflicts. Us bigger countries have our limits as well and should be involved to a larger extent in more conflicts such as Darfur, etc., but we can only be spread so thin as well.

Anyways...I too am bowing out of this as I am rather ill at the moment and don't have the energy for these kinds of "discussion". lol

Have fun, guys...

Hey -- I'll say nothin' except I just found out Canada and Australia both have forces there. See, I don't watch TV. It really suck's here in the US. Startin' a fight here . . . sorry, eh . . . has taught me sumthin'. The US has plenty of help as long as that dumb dumb bush doesn't start a personal war. Eh, his days are numbered.

I pity the poor insurgents, well kind'a. The Canadian's and Aussie's are fightin' devils, dangerous, very dangerous.

GI's are lucky to have ya'll there, damn lucky, eh.

The war in Iraq was a political gesture of benefit to those in power who lost monies from their investments. Now for those who believe this is off a country aspect, you couldn't be further from the truth. Firstly, the US is not actually a world super power any longer, you need to jump outside the US patriotic beliefs to actually take a better look at the world before you continue stating those mis-truths. China is now the world super power, it holds more people, more weapons, more money, more ability to fight than any other country in the world. China owns a good proportion of the US and other countries... it is the factually recognised super power of the world today (go look it up). The US officially lost that statement last year. No doubt the US is still calling itself the world super power, because that is what the US does... spreads mis-truth to its citizens and attempts to do the same to the world. Many US citizens who travel outside the US actually travel with fear and malice now, in that they often keep their head down and to themselves, because the rest of the world actually don't like the US as a whole any longer.

Yes, citizens are innocent in this, although, our lovely governments tend to tar all citizens with its brush. Just look at North Korea as an example, the president Kim Jong-il is a fruit cake, he rules with dictatorship, he starves his country and kills his own people. North Korea is a worry to the rest of the world, though the citizens of that country certainly never signed up for that type of rule or lifestyle, you would find they actually want peace and freedom. When referred however, one typically states that North Korea as a country is a major problem to the world, regardless there a innocent citizens that want peace and freedom, the facts still remain that within that country is an army that will fight because they are told to fight. If they don't, then their family are killed, or they are killed, even both. They breed fear into their citizens to conform or die. Again, the country is still tarred with the same brush, dictatorship and dangerous.

The US actually have a simliar method of control, except they call it "patriotic" or "patriotism" instead of dictatorship. They use similar tactics to Korea, innuendo, lies, mis-truth to the citizens of the country, the world even. America utilise God as a weapon, not just as a worship. If you are raised to believe in a higher power, you will fight for that power. If you are taught to not think for yourself, instead act in a patriotic manner because your country demands it, then people often will do so.

Not only were US citizens and the world citizens sent into Iraq as a mis-truth, they where blanketed with lies and dictatorship tactics to fight for something that not only never existed, but was made to believe exist even after proven it did not.... (biological weapons). Its about oil, nothing more, nothing less. Its not just about American investment in that oil, its about America's good friends the Arabs investment in that oil. The Arabs cannot go getting themselves into more conflict, so money instead dictates America to do so.

The US president's families company isn't proven and aligned with the Bin-Laden group for nothing now... why was Bin-Laden never captured? Because that is the aim... and why would two family companies with significant power and influence in both countries want the one person of common interest caught? If they caught him then America would have to remove itself from the country.... so they instead used that dictatorship type tactic of blanket mis-truth and innuendo to get focued on Sadaam instead. Yes, he was an evil man and deserved to be taken out, but why not just say that in the first place? Why use lies and other issues to gain access? Because America would have lost control and money of certain oil rights.... as the US are the worlds largest consumer per capita of fossil fuel.

And that is what the entire war in Iraq boils down too.... fossil fuel = money. Not one solider who signed up ever did so thinking this, nor have they done wrong doing what ordered to do.... it is not the soldiers fault, it is not countries citizens fault, it is at political level of Government that the issue exists. UK prime minister got booted because of the war, Australian prime minister booted, the US one will be overwhelmingly booted also.... not sure about the Canadian one. Many countries Government have been booted from power because of the war in Iraq decisions.

America had no right to ever enter that country, plain and simple. America never had a right to drag other countries into the fight under false evidence, but it did. America wonders why some of these countries retaliate against them and call them terrorists, which they are, however; it is the only way they can get their message across to get out of their country and leave their countries politics alone. America believe they have the right to enter countries, attempt to put their political stamp upon that country and believe it will just follow. Did America learn nothing from Vietnam? You just cannot go into another country and believe you can take it over, control it or manipulate it and that those citizens are going to lay down and take it. It doesn't work, never has, and still isn't for the American Government. The only thing the US Government are achieving from this is population control by killing their own people in what is legally a legal method through war. Very sad, though quite true.

America is broke, it is trillions in debt. The country doesn't own a single thing it does any more.... China owns it and America is in debt to China for it. The bombs, bullets, missiles, fuel in the planes and ships.... the pay for soldiers.... all China's money which the US Government owe them.

America need to pull their patriotic little Governmental heads in, they need to get their troops out of any country they where not asked to help in the first place, then focus on building a stable economy and growth internally, for atleast the next 20 years. Now some terrorists are still going to have some issues from the past and carry those into those two decades, though America must deal with that and not retaliate against them, instead prove their ability to remain outside of other countries unless expressly asked to help, and when asked, they respect that countries rights and beliefs, when under control they leave. Simple... easy, effective, and it builds relations between countries instead of the world hating Americans in general because of the countries political rule and viewpoint. Really not good being an American and travelling presently... they don't get looked upon very well at present throughout the world.

Some of what I have mentioned is fact, some is my opinion.... I am not attacking America, only outlining my opinion and some facts surrounding it. Often Americans here have learnt some facts kept from itself after they go searching the web.... Again, my two cents in this stupid war and the issues surrounding it. It is hard not to outline the US as an implicating factor in opinion considering the US is the main offender to this entire issue. Again, not the soldiers fault... soldiers do as they are told.

Anthony,

What really cracks me up........The rebate checks that most Americans will receive in a few weeks-months......The money was borrowed from China. Money that has to be paid back with interest.... We will then buy things here in the states that were made in China. So all we do is help China's economy.

You are right Anthony, the US is in financial straights, we are broke and getting broker.......We produce nothing, we own nothing anymore, and our government is willing to sell off everything. Pisses me right off.

If I spent money like our government does.... I would be bankrupt, out on the street, eating out of garbage pails. But they just keep spending, spending, and borrowing more and more from China.

End of my rant....

Here is an intersting ling with a few statistics about GNP http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/gnp.html.
Here's another link that puts China at # 3 http://www.lonympics.co.uk/worldsmostpowerfulcountries.htm
Here is a link that project gnp over the next few years http://sun-bin.blogspot.com/2005/12/when-will-chinas-gdp-overtake-us.html

I know GNP is a rough calculation of output cause it includes things like making weapons, cleaning up oil spills, and doesn't include things like quality of life. But as I see it the US still heads the list by rather a good margin.

Also, I remember the years when China had a huge army, extremely powerful on paper, only they had no way to project it.

Unless, China has changed recently, at last I remember they didn't have much of a Navy. Hard to project power when ya got no navy.

However, the way China is growing it is one country that could cause some serious power shifts over the years.

Well I never knew a lot of that, so thanks Anthony. Certainly didn't realise China is the Super Power now!

Uhmmm - try taking a look at the links I posted .. . . don't see how that information conforms to China as a super power. Anyone have any links that could quantify that claim?

I agree with China being a superpower. There is an excellent Canadian/international documentary about China for anyone who has the chance to see it. It's called China Rises. It was on television here in Canada and you can also get it at video stores here, not sure about other countries. But it's enlightening and interesting. Here is CBC Television's website about it, the website contains a few preview videos as well:

http://www.cbc.ca/chinarises/intro/index.html

Since China is doing so well I think it would be great if they would take more responsibility for providing humanitarian aid to the rest of the world. I think someone posted here earlier that responsibility goes with wealth and power and I agree with that.

Yeah I agree Ruddy, it would be nice if China helped with humanitarian aid. They might be already, I actually don't know for a fact one way or another. Though from watching that documentary, although they are ecomomically very successful now, their government doesn't seem to care about their citizens or human rights much still. So I kind of doubt they would care about others in the world who are suffering. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong about that though.