And not ONE of the vehicles was carrying any WMDs, right??
Where's your proof???
WASHINGTON - In his final word, the CIA’s top weapons inspector in Iraq said Monday that the hunt for weapons of mass destruction has “gone as far as feasible” and has found nothing, closing an investigation into the purported programs of Saddam Hussein that were used to justify the 2003 invasion.
“After more than 18 months, the WMD investigation and debriefing of the WMD-related detainees has been exhausted,” wrote Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, in an addendum to the final report he issued last fall.
“As matters now stand, the WMD investigation has gone as far as feasible.”
How many BILLIONS of dollars is going to AIDS research in Africa? I think W increased that amount a few years ago, too.
Some leading Christian conservatives, angry over the Global Fund to Fight AIDS's promotion of condoms and its perceived lack of support for faith-based programs, are pushing Congress to cut US support for the AIDS initiative, which was initiated by President Bush in a Rose Garden ceremony five years ago with a $200 million commitment.
The fund -- whose full name is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria -- has become one of the pillars of the international effort to fight infectious diseases, growing into a $6.6 billion organization that supports programs in 136 countries.
It is a primary vehicle for the AIDS-fighting efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The only larger HIV and AIDS program in the world is the president's $15 billion, five-year plan.
And I doubt it was for oil, simply because the price of oil didn't really shoot up until the banking crisis hit.. not to mention, the oil companies only get a relative few new oil contracts.
BAGHDAD—Iraq's oil minister on Monday announced the start of bidding by foreign companies for contracts to boost the production of eight underperforming oil and gas fields.
The contracts, to be executed in about 18 months, would open Iraq's oil fields to foreign companies for the first time since former dictator Saddam Hussein nationalized foreign concessions in the 1970s.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said 35 companies had been selected to bid. Among them were seven from the United States and four each from China and Japan.
The bidding will proceed even though the parliament has not ratified a national oil law to regulate foreign contracts. The measure has been stalled by disagreements over how to divide oil revenues among Iraq's regions.
Originally posted by traderonwallst
reply to post by Grafilthy
Jealousy breeds hatred. America is the land of the free, the home of the brave and the world's only super power. What is not to be jealous of. Keep hating us, it's what unites us. It's what makes us great.
Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by styxxz
Nothing I have said in this thread so far as been "patriotic" .. and if you read any other part of ATS except rabid Liberal threads, you would know that I am both against the war and the Government as a whole, being a devout Libertarian.
I only question the motives of the OP.. who has made some.. disturbing threads in the past. He simply holds resentment against America for no particular reason..
PS: The weapons where not destroyed, as after the First Gulf War they where used against Kurds in the Northern parts of Iraq.. there has never been conclusive evidence that either they where destroyed or even stopped making them. Not nukes, thats rubbish, but I believe they had nerve agents and perhaps biological weapons.. because as I said, we gave them the weapons.. to develop their own. To use against Iran.
Originally posted by Better Dead than Smeg
Originally posted by traderonwallst
reply to post by Grafilthy
Jealousy breeds hatred. America is the land of the free, the home of the brave and the world's only super power. What is not to be jealous of. Keep hating us, it's what unites us. It's what makes us great.
See, this is where the 'Jealousy' argument falls flat on its face. I am Australian. I thank god I don't live in America because:
1. Our public health system is better,
2. The rate of deaths-per-capita due to violence is drastically less,
3. Our cities consistantly rate in the worlds top 10 Best Cities to live in.
4. Our people are considered amongst the most polite and respectful people in the world,
Thats just what I can think of off the top of my head. I am not jealous of your country, you couldn't pay me to live there.
EDIT for PS: Oh and Traderonwallst were you not asked to remove a certain quote from your signature because you have demonstrated you don't know what it means?
[edit on 4/7/2008 by Better Dead than Smeg]
Originally posted by Better Dead than Smeg
Originally posted by traderonwallst
reply to post by Grafilthy
Jealousy breeds hatred. America is the land of the free, the home of the brave and the world's only super power. What is not to be jealous of. Keep hating us, it's what unites us. It's what makes us great.
See, this is where the 'Jealousy' argument falls flat on its face. I am Australian. I thank god I don't live in America because:
1. Our public health system is better,
2. The rate of deaths-per-capita due to violence is drastically less,
3. Our cities consistantly rate in the worlds top 10 Best Cities to live in.
4. Our people are considered amongst the most polite and respectful people in the world,
Thats just what I can think of off the top of my head. I am not jealous of your country, you couldn't pay me to live there.
EDIT for PS: Oh and Traderonwallst were you not asked to remove a certain quote from your signature because you have demonstrated you don't know what it means?
[edit on 4/7/2008 by Better Dead than Smeg]
Why do they hate America? Look around you man. If I were in another
country that didn't have what we have and looked at people that took for granted all the blessings we so often take for granted, even now, I'd
probably hate us too. But I'm here and I understand. I was one of the very few lucky ppl on this planet 
