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AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#108301: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:01:22 PM

And how do we do that? Didn't we bungle that up for Afghanistan and Iraq?

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#108302: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:07:45 PM

So you learn from it. Both were, in different ways, half-assed post-war plans.

AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#108303: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:08:57 PM

Yeah, but this is the political world: you hardly learn anything.

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#108304: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:09:50 PM

That logic could apply to anything and everything.

You can't let that stop one from trying.

AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#108305: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:12:54 PM

[up][up]None in the world has the political will to do the same thing NATO and Russia did in Serbia, basically a long standing occupation and nation building that puts the ruling and administration in the hands of the military coalition.

Both left and right wings are somewhat against it, the right doesn't want to waste money on people they consider a lost cause and loathe while the left sees it as a neo-colonial effort to control developing nations in order to take their resources.

The US Military was doing right in Iraq until some politicians in Washington decided, against the US Mil advice, to kick out all the baathtists in the Iraq military and hastily pass the government control to the Shia parties in Iraq while depowering the still influential Sunni Baath party, after that the mess created is history with Shia led Iraq government alienating the Sunnis in Iraq, the rest is history.

edited 7th Jan '16 2:13:03 PM by AngelusNox

Inter arma enim silent leges
FieldMarshalFry Field Marshal of Cracked from World Internet War 1 Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Field Marshal of Cracked
#108306: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:27:31 PM

the only solution is 20 years of nation building by local powers and the west setting up an independent state, any other solution would just cause even more trouble and another war, e.g., the Kurds win and set up a Kurdish state, they then go to war with Turkey over territory they view as Kurdish

advancing the front into TV Tropes
JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#108307: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:37:00 PM

@ Democrat flaws. Reminder, Jay Nixon, the man who ordered the National Guard into Missouri was a Democrat.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#108308: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:49:49 PM

Instead of getting bogged down in rightist and leftist politics, I think we need to focus and get back to what's truly important in this country: bombing Agrabah.

It's high time we stopped letting those lamp-rubbing bastards do whatever they want just because they live in a magical fantasy land. Genie sorcery is a serious threat to America's interests overseas!

edited 7th Jan '16 2:51:13 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
LogoP Party Crasher from the Land of Deep Blue Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Party Crasher
#108309: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:56:35 PM

Are genie lambs considered WM Ds? They easilly could be, especially on the hands of a megalomanic as Jafar.

Who, I must say, horrible as he might be, has easily the lowest body count among the dictators in the Middle East.

edited 7th Jan '16 2:58:38 PM by LogoP

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#108310: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:57:37 PM

Agrabah has mishandled a lot of magical equipment that keeps falling into the hands of evil viziers. That's a big threat to national security.

Having said that, it's really easy to get people to do stupid things. For example, a guy managed to get people to sign a petition to repeal the 1st ammendment.

Leviticus 19:34
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#108311: Jan 7th 2016 at 2:57:46 PM

Basically while everyone wants ISIS gone there's a lot of disagreement over getting rid of the causes of ISIS (Assad and the Iraqi government), who's going to put in the effort (nobody but Iran and Hez are contributing ground troops) and if the side effects of defeating ISIS are worth it (for Turkey that means strong Kurds and for Saudi Arabia it means a strong Iran, and both countries care more about weakening their enemies then weakening ISIS).

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#108312: Jan 7th 2016 at 3:03:13 PM

I say we form an alliance with a bunch of other countries Daesh has pissed off so we can EXTERMINATE them.

But I'm not an expert, so it'll probably end in someone worse coming out of things.

Quite a few of those countries have limited military ability, or ability to throw in for rebuilding a country wracked by 5 years of civil war. Others think Daesh are a lesser evil than other enemies. Some think Daesh is a convenient scapegoat to let them do whatever they want. (Crack down on internal dissent, use as an excuse to do whatever they want in the area, etc.) Still others think that Daesh and Syria are a useful proxy war to contend for greater regional prominence.

The solution you lay out is probably right, but getting everyone to come around to it and look past all their other competing concerns... I highly doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.

Hence why I'm increasingly of the idea that this isn't really a case where the US can play a major role, at least not without stepping what is the local and international equivalent of a snakepit.

Regarding Agragh: Prince Ali might be a relative moderate with for the region, but a monarchy with those sort of potential weapons like the Lamp and a history of letting ambitious and ruthless men get too close to the throne/the reins of power needs careful watching. Just saying. tongue

edited 7th Jan '16 3:07:39 PM by TheWanderer

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
rikalous World's Cutest Direwolf from Upscale Mordor (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
World's Cutest Direwolf
#108313: Jan 7th 2016 at 3:43:41 PM

[up][up][up][up]Genies are specifically constrained from homicide, which reduces their utility as weapons. And their usefulness for infrastructure purposes is simply absurd, so I'd be hesitant to declare them verboten based on the ways they could be abused.

JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#108314: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:09:39 PM

What if the Ayatollah got his hands on that lamp and wished for nukes?!!

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
rikalous World's Cutest Direwolf from Upscale Mordor (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
World's Cutest Direwolf
#108315: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:12:40 PM

Look, if you're gonna forbid the use of anything that could be used to kill people, you're gonna be forbidding the use of everything.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#108316: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:24:02 PM

That is interesting. I'd argue that giving an insane dictator a nuke would count as killing someone, though-it's like wishing someone was hanging above a volcano and saying that you're not responsible for killing them when they fall in. So, genie couldn't give an insane dictator a nuke.

Leviticus 19:34
pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#108317: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:33:32 PM

You can't wish somebody dead, but there's nothing against wishing somebody helpless so you can kill them easily by yourself. Like wishing they would turn into a bug, then stomping on them.

This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#108318: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:34:46 PM

[up]X4 Then he'd probably roll back his aggression and funding of terrorist groups, safe in the knowledge that the US wasn't about to once again decide to overthrow the regime of Iran for oil.

Your point does work by the way, it's just your example that's off. Let's say Saudi Arabia got it and wished that all the oil in the world became concentrated under Saudi Arabia, giving it total control of the global oil market.

[up]X2 It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, which considering the US's history with Iran *cough*shooting down a civilian airliner*cough* *cough*overthrowing the democratic goverment on behalf of BP*cough* *cough*for years fabricating evidence of nuclear misconduct so as to try and gwt an excuse for regime change*cough* is kinda true.

edited 7th Jan '16 4:36:58 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#108319: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:36:47 PM

[up] No. He'd fund more terrorists knowing the US could never punish him for their actions. Pakistan for example has gotten away with all kinds of shit because they have the bomb.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#108320: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:38:33 PM

[up] It's possible, in the end more nukes is never good, but let's not pretend that Iran would start nuking anyone, it would be bad, but the same way that Egypt or Saudi Arabia getting nukes would be.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#108321: Jan 7th 2016 at 4:46:00 PM

[up] I was not saying Iran would start throwing nukes as anything other than a joke. And no, Saudi Arabia and Egypt would be very unlikely to use the bomb as well. In fact their is no nation I know of that is eager to use nukes, even the Norks only want them to keep the regime from being overthrown.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#108322: Jan 7th 2016 at 6:14:33 PM

So it seems like the Trump campaign has solved its problem of handing out several thousand more tickets than the venue can support is to have staff ask if people trying to get in are Trump supporters and then refusing them entrance if they say literally anything else other than yes to that question.

Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#108323: Jan 7th 2016 at 6:16:58 PM

Well, yeah. Can't have him being exposed to people other than toadying yes-men.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#108324: Jan 7th 2016 at 6:21:14 PM

Trump's people are getting very paranoid about protesters infiltrating his rallies.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#108325: Jan 7th 2016 at 6:44:08 PM

Trump is gonna be coming to my state...

WELL HE CAN JUST [The following rant was removed for unnecessary brutal dialog of a frank and explicit manner. Hopefully the little kiddies won't have to suffer from hearing this.] AND THEN WHEN THE DOCTOR'S LOOK AT IT, NONE OF THEM CAN FIND A SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE WAY TO REATTACH IT.

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?

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