Derek 2.0

The elected Iraqi Government and Kurds are nutcases?

Explain how he "grew complacent and let things slip"....

Saddam had two "fairly formidable opposition" groups to his North and South for decades..........yet are you suggesting Saddam would have succeeded where Assad failed.....why is that and how?

Which "nutcases" do we support?

Who knows? A change in atmospheric pressure caused a weak pipe to fail?

Other than to halt the expansion of ISIS and aide Iraqi and Kurdish forces in regaining ground........

And that would be what?

The same ways we've been using since the dawn of airpower.

Why is it conceivable and what could/would Saddam have done different than Assad?

Quote it in context.

Yes indeed, and the answer is quite clear, kill those that want to kill us.

And the problem with your (ability to read) logic, is that was my point.........thanks for coming out though.

Right, but then there would still be fuel in the lines, just not pressurized (if said line was shut down).......like you said, we just don't know.

I agree fully, right or wrong, the present and the future is what has to be addressed.

But wait a minute, you suggested if Saddam was still in power, ISIS never would have posed a threat in Iraq.........But Assad had a far stronger army, yet a power vacuum was created by a civil war.........So Saddam in power = No ISIS in Iraq, but Assad in power = Civil war allowing ISIS. Your logic doesn't jive.

Fair enough, but fuel is fed to the APU in the tail section.....

How does that equate to occupy the Middle East to combat radical Islam?

From the Star: There you go......

You've yet to square the circle as to what is Assad........no vacuum in Syria, and like Saddam, Assad had a massive army.

Right, but fuel vapor has caused airliners to explode in the past..

Why are you misrepresenting what I said? I clearly stated we should support those nations that are unable to contend with radical Islam on their own, and that is not limited to the Middle East, but globally........as mentioned earlier, there are currently two Canadians being held hostage by a radical Islamic group in the Philippines. Now if we as a nation could provide any support the Filipino people might need, and not all cases would require "boots on the ground" or airstrikes, I would be in favor of that too.

But a fuel line leak and escaping vapors into a confined space, followed by a spark could.......

Exactly, and with the advent of smart munitions and new means of gathering intelligence, unlike then, we now have the ability to greatly reduce the loss of innocent life.

Since she wasn't my first choice (or 2nd or 3rd...maybe 4th) for the permanent leadership and she has only been Interim leader for a few hours, I'll await to she how she performs prior to casting judgement.........as I said though, if she does well and appears electable for 2019, I'd have zero qualms with her having the big chair.

My thoughts exactly.........