Would You Go To Iraq?

[cobra]

... to secure your future?

Actually I've secured my future many times only to find myself broke up the road,

A little thing back in the 70's called the Trans Alaskan Pipeline, four years, miserable arctic conditions, ~ $3000 weekly pay checks, (big money back then), not all the work dangerous, just god awful miserable.

You can still see bumper stickers, "God please let there be another pipeline and I promise not to piss this one away",

I don't think any amount of $$ is worth one's life, but I guess that depends on the value you put on your life. As long as I have enough for the small creature comforts and I'm not a burden to anyone I'm fairly content.

[SoCal]

Read on BBC that Philipinos are actually protesting the President to lift the ban on working in Iraq.

Yikes, some people never learn, but bet that guy who was a hostage won't be going back.

[Begs]

You can still see bumper stickers, "God please let there be another pipeline and I promise not to piss this one away",

Yea, i know what you mean....That's a great Bumper sticker by the way.

[richb2004]

Howver, "All radical muslim terrorists must die." I would like to "get a piece of that."

Is this not a politically correct forum?

Surely it’s not done to criticise Islam now a days.

There are no Muslim terrorists. Its others pretending to be Muslims. Jews probably. I thought everybody knew that.

[Mr Red]

These petty dicatators and the terrorists they harbour and support are all cut from the same cloth.

While I am not a Bush supporter, I am a US citizen and want with all my heart for our country to lead the charge to erase the bastard terrorists from this planet. Having been a special operator (Air Force) with a son in the military now, I think I can sum up the military view of the terrorists with a quote from retired Gen. Schwarzkof (from first Gulf war fame):

In an interview after the 9/11 attacks, Gen Schwartzkof was asked if he thought there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harboured and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks, he said:

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

[curveblade]

Yes Begs, I would go. Regardless of the amount of money.

[Pepe']

Howver, "All radical muslim terrorists must die."  I would like to "get a piece of that."

Is this not a politically correct forum?

Surely it’s not done to criticise Islam now a days.

There are no Muslim terrorists. Its others pretending to be Muslims. Jews probably. I thought everybody knew that.

Thanks Rich,

I'm glad we got that cleared up...

[Pepe']

These petty dicatators and the terrorists they harbour and support are all cut from the same cloth.

While I am not a Bush supporter, I am a US citizen and want with all my heart for our country to lead the charge to erase the bastard terrorists from this planet. Having been a special operator (Air Force) with a son in the military now, I think I can sum up the military view of the terrorists with a quote from retired Gen. Schwarzkof (from first Gulf war fame):

In an interview after the 9/11 attacks, Gen Schwartzkof was asked if he thought there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harboured and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks, he said:

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

Mr Red,

I like that saying, and I'm a vegetarian Buddhist...

[Axel]

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

Great statement by a great General to motivate the troops.

Not so great by a soldier who has to follow orders by his superiors.

Such orders should be: "Search and capture alive (where possible without danger to the own troops)"

By having them alive, we can avoid making them martyrs for which they would be thankful.

More important, while alive they can be interrogated and can give information leading to the people behind to erase the real bastards.

Example: They got Saddam. Now lets find out where these WMD really are. Who supplied them? Who supported Saddam. Once we know this, can go after the real biggies to stop terrorism. Let's name countries, companies, people regardless of nationality, standing etc.

Punishment: Jail, but not necessarily in Western countries where the accommodation is too nice. Food too plenty. OK, every day a rich pork dinner might be pleasant...

After judgement perhaps jail in Thailand (Does this make the thread Thailand related?) might be helpful and no chance for relese please.

[IamMaiC]

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

Great statement by a great General to motivate the troops.

Not so great by a soldier who has to follow orders by his superiors.

Such orders should be: "Search and capture alive (where possible without danger to the own troops)"

By having them alive, we can avoid making them martyrs for which they would be thankful.

More important, while alive they can be interrogated and can give information leading to the people behind to erase the real bastards.

Example: They got Saddam. Now lets find out where these WMD really are. Who supplied them? Who supported Saddam. Once we know this, can go after the real biggies to stop terrorism. Let's name countries, companies, people regardless of nationality, standing etc.

Punishment: Jail, but not necessarily in Western countries where the accommodation is too nice. Food too plenty. OK, every day a rich pork dinner might be pleasant...

After judgement perhaps jail in Thailand (Does this make the thread Thailand related?) might be helpful and no chance for relese please.

How Do you Capture them alive if he is firing an ak-47 at you?? When I was in Iraq we captured one guy. He had a scared look on his face Whoa!!!! Aren't they supposed to fight and die for allah So one of our officers and a few others took him away, I don't know what they did and I don't want to know either. But he came back and showed us where the rest of his buddies were. Some Loyalty I guess when you are looking down the barrel of a gun NO GOD is gonna help you.

Why is the rest of the world so preoccupied with this WMD mystery, Maybe he had them or maybe not The iraqi people don't care. They needed help When was this man going to be toppled 20 30 40 years from now??? After the first gulf war which i was part of also I knew we were going back. No doubt about it The question was when? You ever seen the pics of the russian migs Mr. Insane had buried If he buried them what's going to stop him from burrying WMD's

[britmaveric]

Problem with radical extremists- can't negotiate with these lot, not going to listen and will keep doing what they are doing until the bitter end. The best available option is to make the end sooner for them and anyone who follows them.

Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. 

- Patton

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country

- Patton

[IamMaiC]

Problem with radical extremists- can't negotiate with these lot, not going to listen and will keep doing what they are doing until the bitter end. The best available option is to make the end sooner for them and anyone who follows them.

Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. 

- Patton

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country

- Patton

HOW TRUE!!!!!

[chuckd]

I was offered $175K early on but turned it down. If I was ten years younger I would have taken it but not now.

I've worked in some interesting places as well and have lived in the Middle East for most of the past 30 years. You get used to it.

[Pepe']

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

Great statement by a great General to motivate the troops.

Not so great by a soldier who has to follow orders by his superiors.

Such orders should be: "Search and capture alive (where possible without danger to the own troops)"

By having them alive, we can avoid making them martyrs for which they would be thankful.

More important, while alive they can be interrogated and can give information leading to the people behind to erase the real bastards.

Example: They got Saddam. Now lets find out where these WMD really are. Who supplied them? Who supported Saddam. Once we know this, can go after the real biggies to stop terrorism. Let's name countries, companies, people regardless of nationality, standing etc.

Punishment: Jail, but not necessarily in Western countries where the accommodation is too nice. Food too plenty. OK, every day a rich pork dinner might be pleasant...

After judgement perhaps jail in Thailand (Does this make the thread Thailand related?) might be helpful and no chance for relese please.

Hummm How about pork dinners in a Thai prison. Hadn't thought of that.

I hate violence but in the case of these terrorist in the south of Thailand or wherever.

I defer to the Marines old credo, "kill 'em all and let God sort'em out later."

[Mr Red]

I defer to the Marines old credo, "kill 'em all and let God sort'em out later."

Pepe -- seems to be the action they best understand. I take it real personal when these bastards take out my friends or family (lost a friend in NY on 9/11), and you know negotiation doesn't work.

Axel -- one of these days we will find the WMDs that were in Iraq found a new home in like-minded countries (probably providing a tidy sum for a few well-connected Iraqis), and we will have to do this again. Pick the friendly neighbor -- Syria, Iran, etc. It is likely to be a long and frustrating journey to clean it up, but should we stop? If we stand aside, it would be viewed as weakness and will be taken advantage of. Weakness has already been exploited (Spain, Phillipines) and they love it. I for one think it is high time we cease speaking softly and break out the big stick (to butcher Harry Truman's phrase).

[Mr Red]

I for one think it is high time we cease speaking softly and break out the big stick (to butcher Harry Truman's phrase).

Oops -- Teddy Roosevelt, not Harry Truman.

[possom]

what the f*** has iraq got to do with september 11 !!!!!!!!! bush and his croneys want to beleive saddam did it . probably why he didnt want the enquiry . doesnt want the facts to stop him getting his hands on the oil .

[Yohan]

If you was offered a chance of a contract in Iraq, that paid 150,000 U.S. Dollars for a years work, would you take it.

Take into account that you may be a target because you are a western contractor,

but for a chance to earn a lot of money TAX FREE, would you take that chance, even though it may cost you your life?

Would you risk all to secure your future?

Off topic, the whole subject, Begs, I would say......using your own words in other threads...

However it is an interesting question....we should have a section, called off-topic-subjects, or subjects, not related to Thailand....or something like that, where members can write about all and everything....

About myself, I am alive and have already usd 150.000,- -

I prefer that.... better alive with little money...

I do not need usd 150.000,- x 2 and my accomodation is in a coffin....

[billd766]

I was offered a contract in Iraq at the beginning of January for around $US 100,000 a year and I didn't take it. Last month I was offered a job again and I was told to name a price (but not a silly one), it included accommodation and flights etc. I thought seriously about that until I was told about another guy who works through the same agency. He was supplied with armed guards, driver and vehicle etc, hotels and flights supplied. He was being driven to work when a roadside bomb took out the vehicle and everybody with it. He earned a lot of money but left behind a girlfriend and a 2 week old baby he never saw. The death benefits for his family, g/f, baby etc. USD$ 0.

The worst thing to happen to you there would not be to die but to become a paraplegic or a quadraplegic and not be able to do anything and then have to be looked after for 20 or 30 years.

Is it worth it to me?

Not a chance, but if you want it enough, it will be your choice and your life on the line.

If you go then may all the gods be with you as you may well need them.

[Up2U]

I was offered a contract in Iraq at the beginning of January for around $US 100,000 a year and I didn't take it. Last month I was offered a job again and I was told to name a price (but not a silly one), it included accommodation and flights etc. I thought seriously about that until I was told about another guy who works through the same agency. He was supplied with armed guards, driver and vehicle etc, hotels and flights supplied. He was being driven to work when a roadside bomb took out the vehicle and everybody with it. He earned a lot of money but left behind a girlfriend and a 2 week old baby he never saw. The death benefits for his family, g/f, baby etc. USD$ 0.

The worst thing to happen to you there would not be to die but to become a paraplegic or a quadraplegic and not be able to do anything and then have to be looked after for 20 or 30 years.

Is it worth it to me?

Not a chance, but if you want it enough, it will be your choice and your life on the line.

If you go then may all the gods be with you as you may well need them.

Sorry for the guy, and his family.

But one thing I insist on, when going to somewhere even slightly dodgy, is an insurance (life / disability) of a large sum. In the case of Iraq it would be € 1 million. Other places I have been 1/2 or 1/4 that, depending on my assessment of risk and the company's attitude.

Most companies insure their workers, not to pay the workers dependents, but to cover themselves. This money stays with the company. If they can do it for themselves, they should do it for your dependents.

[Axel]

A few months ago, two Germans of the Federal Border Patrol (BGS) where killed while protecting a convoy from Syria to Baghdad.

As much as I read, their pension was quite low, a few Euros added for assignment in dangerous area. That's it. Kind of a thank you by the government combined with the (unsaid) idea, being a soldier is your job.

[Spee]

But one thing I insist on, when going to somewhere even slightly dodgy, is an insurance (life / disability) of a large sum. In the case of Iraq it would be € 1 million.

That's the cruxt of the biscuit ... insurance companies aren't in the habit of issuing policies to people working in war zones AND they have clauses in policies that give them an out if the policy holder cashes in while working in a war zone. You might get them to underwrite a policy, if you paid them a fortune, but that sort of defeats the purpose of chasing the big hourly rates.

[Pepe']

I defer to the Marines old credo, "kill 'em all and let God sort'em out later."

Pepe -- seems to be the action they best understand. I take it real personal when these bastards take out my friends or family (lost a friend in NY on 9/11), and you know negotiation doesn't work.

Axel -- one of these days we will find the WMDs that were in Iraq found a new home in like-minded countries (probably providing a tidy sum for a few well-connected Iraqis), and we will have to do this again. Pick the friendly neighbor -- Syria, Iran, etc. It is likely to be a long and frustrating journey to clean it up, but should we stop? If we stand aside, it would be viewed as weakness and will be taken advantage of. Weakness has already been exploited (Spain, Phillipines) and they love it. I for one think it is high time we cease speaking softly and break out the big stick (to butcher Harry Truman's phrase).

I worked on the World Trades for two years. Words can't describe how I felt when they were brought down. I also lost two friends the day they went down.

We used to sit eating our lunch with the buildings as our back rest rating the lower Manhattan "secretaries."

Some times we'd eat up in the elavator motor rooms and hang a plumb bob so we could watch the building sway as we ate.

Did everyone forget about the two missles and truch launchers that were taken from Sadam or his concerted efforts to gather weapons grade plutonium or all of the chemical agents he used on his own people. Incredible!!!

One of my buddies sons is in First Marines over there. The word is that Sadam buried all that stuff long before troops got there. It will never be found. It's like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

What steps is Thailand taking to protect itself, education, awarness, security?

Or Sabai, sabai.