[thechat] Bali

[John Handelaar]

% -----Original Message-----
% From: thechat-admin at lists.evolt.org
% [mailto:thechat-admin at lists.evolt.org]On Behalf Of Quackamoe
% Sent: 17 October 2002 00:03
% To: thechat at lists.evolt.org
% Subject: Re: [thechat] Bali
%
% Bush says he won't risk one American life
% by waiting for Iraq to attack, but he will all but
% guarantee that at least one American life *will* be
% lost in an assault on a sovereign nation that, well,
% has the will/motive to hurt has and has the capability
% to hurt us somewhat, maybe a lot, but that has not
% actually taken a swing at us as of yet.

Apropos of nothing in particular, I'm reminded here that
significantly more UK troops were KO'd last time
by the expert crack forces of US military skill than
by the Iraqis.  Ratio roughly 4:1 to the USAF.

Meanwhile (and I only remember this when Paul C might
not cos I'm a few years older, and because I worked
in a defence-related outfit half-staffed by Antipodeans),
the whole Australia-versus-the-world thing started
with Bob Hawke, domestically nicknamed the Pacific
Policeman for his habit of sending a flotilla of
heavily-armed Navy vessels to anywhere Reagan couldn't
get them to first, whenever the 'natives' started
opposing US interests.  NZ used to follow suit, until
they got wise to the deal when Longe was PM - their
reward for loyal lapdogging was to see France commit
an act of murderous terrorism in Auckland harbour,
and then be coerced into letting the perpretrators
go unpunished.

That paragraph was long and ranty enough to make me
desist from commenting on how un-Muslim the so-called
Muslim Indonesian government behaved for 30 years in
East Timor...  though the cause of East Timor's
troubles is fundamentally identical to those of Angola.

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John Handelaar

T +44 20 8933 1494       M +44 7930 681789
F +44 870 169 7657   E john at userfrenzy.com
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