G Huxley

So Rue I see you've defaulted on your claim that Erdogan is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood? Putz.

"You find me insulting? Lol. Well hang on, I am not done. I do not believe you have been to Kurdistan or picked any Kurd or Yazidi's brain." What difference does your opinion make to anything in the world? The Yezidi on Sinjar have been saved now, and you're still just an asshole. "Now you want me to provide you proof that Erdogan is in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood or the US does not support Egypt?" You said Erdogan was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Now you're trying to shift your previous quote around. Let's see evidence of his membership as to your absurd claim. You can also provide evidence that the US does not support Egypt starting with evidence that the 600 million dollars it just gave to the Egyptian government and Apache helicopters it sold them were not real afterall.

Rue your insulting condescension that I have no idea of what's going on is an example your assuming. Don't assume it makes an ass out of u and me. I've been all through Turkey and Kurdistan including in Iraq and visited the Yazidi at their most sacred sites actually living with them for some time. I also spent a number of days staying at the house of one of the top authors and experts on the Yazidi and Kurdistan picking their brain on the subject, and have read all their books on the subject and many by others. In fact you have many things backwards and its obvious that you are getting a lot your spurious information from propaganda sources. i.e. I've heard the spurious claim that Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been espoused on FOXNEWs. The Obama admin is backing the Egyptian military dictatorship with arms and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding as they murder these guys. So this claim is ludicrous. Please source that Erdogan is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood as per your claim.

Update: Air support, supplies and the Kurds are succeeding now in driving back ISIS: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/us-strikes-help-kurds-force-militants-to-retreat-from-towns-near-irbil/story-e6frg6so-1227019999509 Barzani is requesting the same thing: " But despite the successes, the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, warned on Sunday that the militants’ firepower and determination should not be underestimated. He called on his allies to send weapons to help sustain the offensive. “We are not only fighting a terrorist group, we are fighting a terrorist state,” he said. “We would never ask our friends to send their sons to fight on our behalf, this is our war. What we are asking our friends to do is to provide support and to cooperate with us in providing the necessary weapons.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-air-support-helps-kurdish-forces-expel-islamic-state-fighters-from-two-iraqi-towns/2014/08/10/6c737b50-2094-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html

"That's all well and good, but the Kurds alone are not capable of defeating ISIS." Again defeating ISIS is not the objective. Keeping ISIS out of Kurdistan is, and I think the Kurds are capable with air cover and proper supplies. "The length of the embargo was measured in months until a resumption to normalcy, and in such a short period of time, the impact was felt in both the West and East……..of course the level of consumption then, was drastically less than it is today………A regional war, devoid of intervention by outside actors, would last generations." Well something has to wake people up on the seriousness of getting off oil and that would do it as hard as it would be, just as the CAFE standards were introduced in the 70s. Either way Iran and Saudi Arabia are already fighting a war, a proxy war covering much of the Middle East, and it literally has no end in sight. In fact its really been ongoing since 1980.

"So you agree that American/Western forces are required on the ground to help the Kurds counter ISIS in Northern Iraq……..Now what of the Iraqi army?" What I am suggesting is that the US di exactly what it did for Kurdistan during the 1990s. I'm not talking about a boots on the ground invasion of Iraq. Even easier if Kurdistan declares independence and it will soon it will no longer be in Iraq, although it effectively hasn't been for more than the last 2 decades. "At this point, I doubt both the Kurds or the Iraqi Government would reject an American offer to deploy ground troops." The Kurds wouldn't. The Iraqi government might. "...and Europe, China, India, Pakistan etc............If a regional war between Saudi Arabia and Iran were to take place, restricting or stopping the flow of Middle Eastern oil to the rest of the World, rest assured, after the Global economy tanks, the varying factions will go to war over the remaining energy resources on the planet." I doubt it anymore than the oil crisis of the 70s caused world war. Really the root of the problem is addiction to Middle Eastern oil. Any solution that doesn't take into at its core a solution to do so is simply treating the symptoms of the disease, while ignoring its root.

"Air strikes alone won't help the Kurds.......the Kurds can't hope to defeat ISIS with small arms.......They would need modern and more powerful weapons, but more importantly Western Forces to train them how to both use them and employ them correctly." Yes that is what I am suggesting. "I agree that it would likely accomplish little, not for lack of money, but lack of will." Nietzsche what you're talking about is the usual stab in the back theory. Permanently garrisoning everywhere where a garrison isn't wanted. And the lack of money is a major factor. The US debt has utterly skyrocketed after the invasion and occupation of Iraq. "I agree on letting them sort out their own differences, but geopolitical realities won't allow it..........simply put, a regional war could start long before the World has found a new source of fuel for it's economic engine......such a sudden and drastic change will be the start of the Third World War." Doubt it. Third World War is if the Russians are in conflict with the States. Right now Iran and the Saudis are already fighting a proxy war covering much of the Middle East. It might be reasonable just to have them fight it out with each other directly. Wow that's pretty harsh, but seriously the West has to stop babying Saudi Arabia. Its the Saudi oil money behind these ISIS assholes.

I agree with you on the problem of airstrikes attacking irregular forces like ISIS. However containing ISIS from invading Kurdistan is realistic, and really simply requires a well supplied Peshmerga with air power to cover against any armour ISIS throws at them. Re-invading Iraq isn't going to accomplish anything, it will just create the same problem when the west inevitably has to pull out because it literally can't afford to permanently garrison the country. As for the rest of Iraq, it might actually be good for the Saudis and Iranians to go at it. I sound pretty cynical at this point, but the root of this problem is religious sectarianism coupled with oil money. The root of the problem needs to be addressed and that is addiction to Middle East oil. Until that is addressed everything is simply dressing the symptoms while ignoring the deep underlying root cause of the problem.

Derek ok yeah technically NATO didn't invade Iraq, just most of the most powerful members did. The US, UK, I think Germany provided some troops, Italy, Spain, Poland etc. etc. No I repeat the US should pull its troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. It doesn't need troops to provide air cover for the Kurds. "As to providing "air cover" and "supplies", that alone will not defeat ISIS........." Defeating ISIS is not the objective. The objective is containment, as the US did to Saddam in the 90s.

Why is the Canadian government still not coming to the aid of these people who so desperately need it? Other countries are. Without aid people will be dying en masse in only a couple days. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/us-strikes-again-as-obama-vows-to-save-iraqis-stranded-on-mount-sinjar/story-e6frg6so-1227019402544?nk=cdce160e5765ba5fd315264534ab8e35

To prevent a genocide. I think American forces should have left both places. NATO should protect them with air cover and with supplies. Its the least they should do considering ISIS is using captured NATO supplies to attack them.

"Sure they should get the help....the problem is how will Canada deliver the aid?" Via Turkey or the US. NATO has bases in Turkey and I believe Canada has some forces in Turkey. " Will providing these women and children with food, water and first aide prevent their slaughter by ISIS forces? :huh:" No I think NATO should act to protect them.

To answer your question neither the Gazans deserve the outrageous treatment they've been given, but the sheer numbers of a people almost being wiped out here and in desperate need NOW as their children are starving in droves and women being raped and sold into slavery is imperative that they get the help they need.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-supportive-of-us-air-strikes-in-iraq-foreign-minister-says/article19970704/ "northwestern Nineveh province, bordering Iraq's Kurdish region. The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, said Tuesday that official reports indicated 40 children from the Yazidi minority had died "as a direct consequence of violence, displacement and dehydration" since the weekend. "Families who fled the area are in immediate need of urgent assistance, including up to 25,000 children who are now stranded in mountains surrounding Sinjar and are in dire need of humanitarian aid including drinking water and sanitation services," it said. Dakhil gave a similarly awful account. "Over the course of 48 hours, 30,000 families are stranded in the Sinjar Mountains with no water and food. They are dying -- 70 kids so far died from thirst and suffocation," she said. "Fifty old men died due to the deteriorating situation. Our women are being captured and sold as slaves." http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/06/world/meast/iraq-crisis-minority-persecution/ "The militant advance on Sinjar and other towns in the area displaced as many as 200,000 people, according to the UN Mission in Iraq. Most of the displaced are Yezidi, a Kurdish community whose faith includes features of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism." http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/05/isis-battling-to-seize-iraqs-largest-dam-which-can-unleash-a-15-foot-wall-of-water-on-baghdad/

Good catch. This is an egregious crime against humanity. Creating mass graves and the west is financing and backing it militarily.

Even the US is being forced to acknowledge this now, having said little when the last 529 were sentenced to death. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/us-urges-egypt-to-end-mass-trials-114042900295_1.html

Shady are you trying to live up to your name?

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/feds-secretly-gave-canadian-military-ok-to-share-info-despite-torture-risk-1.1773972 Lovely just lovely.... This following the Feds having knowingly handed over prisoners to be tortured in Afghanistan several years ago.

Christy Clark has almost more Conflicts of Interest here than Cheney with Halliburton. (and yes it also involves Enbridge) http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/09/christy-clark-once-served-as-chairwoman-of-b-c-company-that-she-has-promoted-since-becoming-premier/ This is outrageous. This article is well worth the read from top to bottom. The amount of corruption, fraudulence, chicanery and duplicity involved here is incredible. This may well bring her down like Redford. There is a whole web of corruption here that's being exposed.

Hudson nice to see you support mass murdering military dictatorships over democratically elected leaders. WWWTT Iraq is a good case in point.

Interesting. We've seen what happened with Russian backing of Syria. Utter massacres of the population... The world powers have cannibalized the Middle East for their own purposes.

0-691-03387-0 (cloth) This is a sort of show trial on a parallel with the sort of thing Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and their ilk did. Unfrigging believable that the West is just standing by and letting this happen. Those are real people!!!!! And there are more to come. This is only the beginning: "At least 16,000 people have been arrested since July, by official government counts. Many of these are being held without charges, and many more are being tried en masse. An even larger group is due in Minya's criminal court Tuesday." http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-death-penalty-20140325,0,6047819.story

Well then let's bring back land mines, use napalm, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons and every other weapon of mass destruction we can devise as killing large groups of people is what the army is SUPPOSED to do according to you.

hitops lacking shame isn't something to be proud of. BTW Canada is a signitory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. So the cons are violating a convention we are signatory to. Signatories Ratifications * Convention on Cluster Munitions The impetus for the treaty, like that of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines, has been concern over the severe damage and risks to civilians from explosive weapons during and long after attacks. A varying proportion of submunitions dispersed by cluster bombs fail to explode on impact and can lie unexploded for years until disturbed. The sometimes brightly colored munitions are not camouflaged, but have been compared to toys or Easter eggs, attracting children at play.[10][11] Human rights activists claim that one in four casualties resulting from submunitions that fail to explode on impact are children who often pick up and play with the explosive canisters well after the conflict has ended.[12] The 2006 Lebanon War provided momentum for the campaign to ban cluster bombs. The United Nations estimated that up to 40% of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact.[13] Norway organized the independent Oslo process after discussions at the traditional disarmament forum in Geneva fell through in November 2006.[14] The cluster munitions ban process, also known as the Oslo Process, began in February 2007 in Oslo. At this time, 46 nations issued the "Oslo Declaration", committing themselves to: Conclude by 2008 a legally binding international instrument that prohibits the use and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians and secure adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to survivors and clearance of contaminated areas.[15][16] The Oslo Process held meetings in Lima in May 2007 and Vienna in December 2007. In February 2008, 79 countries adopted the "Wellington Declaration", setting forth the principles to be included in the convention.[17] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Cluster_Munitions

" What, again, is it that makes that clear?" “Let me tell you about the cluster bomb raid we saw wipe out a whole bunch of little kids." http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00105.htm And, not all the bomblets explode. One of the issues with the use of clusterbombs in Afghanistan was that the bomblets looked a lot like the food packages were being dropped so innocent civilians were blowing themselves up trying to find food and aid. " Cluster munitions are unacceptable for two reasons. Firstly, they have wide area effects and are unable to distinguish between civilians and combatants. Secondly, the use of cluster munitions leave behind large numbers of dangerous unexploded ordnance. Such remnants kill and injure civilians, obstruct economic and social development, and have other severe consequences that persist for years and decades after use. Adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, Ireland and signed on 3-4 December 2008 in Oslo, Norway, the Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force on 01 August 2010. Currently the Convention has 113 signatories, out of which 84 are also State parties." http://www.clusterconvention.org/