Dick Dasterdly

Much the same for the Soviets, however I think I'd much prefer a Western version of democracy to the ex Soviet so called "democratic" republics, where you normally had a choice of one candidate to vote for..... or else......

Nothing much has changed as they try to regain influence by whatever means possible, what they gave up a few years ago.
Could add quite a few to Matt's list,including those small republics to the South of Russia who are finding out they're not quite so independant as they first thought.

bil

Hell yes, better capitalism, any day. As someone says, it fails better than anything else we have tried.

If you want to check how badly the soviet system worked, remember that they took a country full of Germans (DDR) and managed to make a loss.

HBG

The US is the dominant superpower in the West and as such acts as a kind of policeman for the rest of us, but according to their laws, not always ours, and always in their national interest, definitely not ours. They probably got it right in WW1 and WW2, and a lot of other times, but have made some big mistakes which have cost them (and everyone else) dearly, Iraq is the latest example.

I was pleased when Zapatero immediately pulled the Spanish troops out of Iraq, they should never have been there in the first place.

I’ve travelled to the US since then, on a flight from Madrid, and the way the border guards treated the Spaniards on our flight was appalling. I watched those officials faces and they were literally screwed up with hatred every time a Spaniard showed his passport and entry visa. I helped a young Spanish student fill his form out after the officials kept rejecting it and the young man was in tears. He missed his onward flight.

Funnily enough, when we arrived at our destination on the West Coast, everyone spoke Spanish.

On our return to Madrid, due to more silly hold-ups in the States, a lot of us had missing luggage. The Spanish officials were more than helpful, a refreshing change from their US counterparts.

If only that girl at the Mercadona check-out was more polite, but she was born in Bolton.

bil

Amen. Damn good post.

jackytoo

Not my experience at all of flying via Madrid to the US. Did lose luggage once, along with about 30 spanish...Iberia forgot to load it on the madrid to málaga leg

Spain has fell off the radar with the USA though since Zapatero refused to stand at an American parade in madrid and then pulled out the spanish troops. He has been trying to worm his way back on the scene ever since. When spain held the presidency of the EU not long ago ZP arranged a conference which is customary. Obama said he could not make it during Spains term so Spain cancelled it. El Mundo published an article about it.

rugbymatt

Better to have left Saddam in power right? I mean he was OK right?

Rotor

Exactly , its like watching your neighbour beating the *hit out of his wife and kids and turning a blind eye and saying it`s not for me to get involved, not my problem but on a grander scale

To many limp wrists in the UK/europe today

rugbymatt

The man was pure evil and his sons looked set to escalate the terror when they eventually came to power, and I know... we helped him rise to power, as did the Yanks and we helped him maintain his power in the first years but thats neither here nor there when you consider the sheer terror he rained down on his people.

Could he of been taken out by secretive means? Maybe, but one of his sons would have simply stepped up to the plate and god only knows what the consequence of that would have been! I wonder how many have read about Uday's "deflowering service" he provided for the prettiest female students at the countries universities? Makes shocking reading for sure.

HBG

Of course Saddam was a nasty dictator who oppressed his people, if you scroll further down Africa you will find several more just like him. And if you look at the rest of the world, you will find an impressive list of identical oppressors.

So why did the glorious liberators pick on Saddam?

On the second day of the invasion our satellite went down and I could only find German channels while I was fiddling about with it. One of the main channels showed a long line of trucks travelling into southern Iraq all laden with large oil pipes, miles and miles of similar trucks, an amazing sight that never made Fox News or Sky.

Of course you could believe that Bush and that silly Blair had Christian morals in mind, it could even be half-right, the other half is just as obvious, it’s selling at 100 Dollars a barrel at the moment.

I feel a bit safer with Obama in the saddle at the moment, I read in his book that he is fond of his Kenyan Muslim grandfather and it might stop him sending his brave soldiers into yet another conflict. But he’s only got two years left and if Mrs Palin takes the reins, God help us.

rugbymatt

Not many have done to other countries what he did...

bil

Matt, I agree full stop Saddam was an evil piece of sh*t and shooting him would have been a service to mankind.

Pardon my rabid cynicism, but when do you think that the west will be stepping into Rhodesia in order to put the kybosh on Mugabe?

Iraq could have been toppled very easily, with far less damage to infrastructure. The fact is that it suited the US to have Iraq ruined, as it's easier to steal a man's wallet when he is unconscious and bleeding.

There were no WMDs.

As for Saddam, he killed a lot of his people. Do we have a figure for that that hasn't been exaggerated by the west, and how does it compare with the numbers of Iraquis that died since we went in there?

jackytoo

I have seen film of a whole village (Kurds?) that was gassed by Saddam. There were no WMD's but there might have been. Saddam had months to get rid of them when he was stalling the UN inspectors.

As for Blair and Bush, in the UK there were about 600 MP's who backed the invasion as I suppose did congress.

bil

Jacky, there were no WMDs. He got rid of them previously when told to.

I watched a newsreport that showed poor old colon powell telling us that they had deffo pinpointed a place where WMDs were being manufactured.

Think awhile on this. This took place at the time when the weapons inspectors were all over Iraq like a rash. They were only a few hundred miles away from this point in Iraq, and yet, and yet, no-one thought to send them to this point that was so unequivocally identified as a WMD factory.

Can you understand my cynicism?

HBG

Within the next two years, for the first time ever, I believe, almost the entire American military will be back on home soil. Millions of young, fit men (and women), trained to kill, wandering about in a country with gun shops on every corner.

And if the Republicans get back in, as seems likely, what are they going to do with all those citizens ready to fight? And the strong possibility that there are no jobs for them in civilian life? A million Rambos on the loose?

All it will need is for someone to raise a flag, and it will all be off again. I wonder what will be on that flag? Old Europe will have to tread carefully.

jdr

Not many of them know where Europe is.