kmcguffee

And neither does Al Quaeda. It doesn't mean they can't cause significant damage to our country. Hmmm, how many airlines have went bankrupt as a result of that? Hmmm, I didn't realize we had failed. We have made Al Quaeda ineffective as an organization. We have stopped several terrorist attacks as a direct result of our operations in Afghanistan. Think Dirty Bomb if you're wondering. Actually, they got some of the money from us. Most of that money and the weapons aided in the fall of the Soviet Union if you will recall. The Soviet defeat in Afghanistan was the first step in the collapse of Communism. A lot of Al Quaeda's current money was and is raised through fake charities within the United States and other Western countries. Foreign countries that support Al Quaeda also contributed. While you're doing that you should also credit him with winning the Cold War. I blame Clinton for failing to contain terrorism during his time in office. When he discovered that Iraq had funded an operation to try and assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait what do you think he did? Dropped a few bombs and withdrew. Yeah, that'll show em. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

So when are we allowed to defend ourselves? If a man has a gun in his hand and says he is going to kill you, do you have to wait until he fires to defend yourself? Maybe you wait until he starts to raise the gun or wait until he points the gun at you. The problem is if you wait until he starts to attack you then you are going to be late in your defense. If we are going to defend ourselves then I prefer it be before another 9/11, or Khobar Towers, or USS Cole, or embassy bomb. There is volumes of information out there showing that Iraq is training terrorists, funding terrorists, and attacking US and British aircraft that are enforcing the No Fly Zone that Iraq agreed to after the Gulf War. They also agreed to allow UN weapons inspectors in and haven't budged on that issue until the US started rattling sabers about going to war with them. What should we wait for to prove that they are a threat to the US and our interests? Maybe if they sent a plane over here with the Iraqi flag emblazoned on the underside and dropped a bomb that said "kill all Americans" while playing the Iraqi National Anthem people would get the point. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

If there was no reason to believe that their life was in danger then they will probably fry along with their chain of command. They violated the ROE and the orders of the AWACS and we don't need them flying combat missions with that type of poor judgement. We'll have to see what facts come out in the investigation. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

That sucks! In Louisiana a guy was killed when a deer was jumping across the rode at exactly the time his truck was going down the rode. The deer jumped through the side glass window and caused him to wreck killing the deer and the driver. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I have only heard that the pilots believed they were being fired upon. There was definately a leadership failure no matter how you look at it. They should have known that there was live fire training occuring in the area of their flight plan. Everyone has a right to self defense so If they believed their lives were in danger they should have the right to defend themselves. I think the issue is going to be what caused them to think their life was in danger. If they just saw ground fire and attacked then they should be court martialed. If they saw tracers flying by their aircraft then their leaders should take the brunt of the punishment. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Are you sure it wasn't Billvon in his new car? "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Pammi, I have had it bad on multiple occasions. It will spread like wildfire very easily when scratched. The bad thing is you will probably scratch it in your sleep and make it spread even if you keep ointment on it all day long. You can do two things to stop it immediately: 1. Go to a doctor and get a shot. It will dry up in 24 hours. 2. Scratch it up and then wipe it with a bleach soaked cloth. I've done both. #1 is less painful but costs more. #2 is just as effective, slighty painful, and is very cheap. If you try #2 have Merrick there to blow and fan after you apply the bleach and it won't be that bad. BTW, it will spread from one person to another if it is runny when you make contact. Based on the area that could be dangerous! "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

AWAY, you spawn of Satan! [hocks up a lugee and spits in disgusted manner] "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Damned officers! They take the fun out of everything. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

LOL.....let's hope he's not aiming for the champagne bottle. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Wow, how did we get so cynical. There are actually a few people in government and the courts that have a good head on their shoulders. They just don't get splashed on the front page of the paper and on CNN every 5 seconds like the idiots.

Quade, if you would really like to see the video I'll send a special request for you. I'm sure George would be honored. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I think the lesson learned is don't wear sunglasses on the sunset load. Sorry to hear that Andy. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

The White House doesn't have a monopoly on assholes. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I have my first (break off) set for 5,000 ft. I like to break off at 4500 ft so it gives me a little reaction time. My second is set for 4,000 ft. I like to pull at 3,500. When I hear it I give a good wave off and pull which should put me around 3,500 ft. My "Oh shit" warning is 2,000 ft. This is my "stop screwing around with whatever you are doing and pull the reserve" altitude. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

Yes weaker but very different. One was supposed to end up with a smaller military that could still effectively complete its mission. Albeit, that mission was different from what the military had been doing up to that point. The new mission did not require as large of a force. The military power was reduced but it could still engage and defeat the current enemy threat. What happend was the military was allowed to go to hell and could not effectively complete its primary mission. We were good at being a police force but if the projected enemy threat (a two front war ie Iraq and N. Korea) would have been realized we would have been in trouble. Luckily, that didn't happen. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

Find an example that everyone would have said it wasn't feasible? Come on now. Should we also consider all of Tom Clancy's other novels as indicators of possible terrorist attacks? How about Stephen King? There is a lot less control over a small general aviation aircraft and a large commercial aircraft. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

That bill was passed by the House (4-17-96) and the Senate (4-18-96). It was just worthless. http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/dn96laws.html#antiterr "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

I missed your point about military power. Yes downsizing did decrease our military power but that was a well thought out plan due to the changing threat. The threat changed so our military had to change. We no longer needed the 14 division Army of the cold war and could feasibly defeat all threats with a 10 division Army. It was a planned downsizing not a deterioration. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

No, it is not semantics. I was in the Army during this period, 1988-2000. We started by deactivating divisions but maintaining our training readiness with the remaining divisions. Morale was still high and soldiers were ready and able to fight and win. When Clinton came on board he quickly pulled training funds and quality of life funds from the military, then increased peace keeping missions until the military had to divert more training money to support the numerous deployments. When I left the Army I was handing my men 30 rounds of ammunition for a 7 day field problem. We were usually out about halfway through day one. My M203 gunners were never qualified because we couldn't afford to buy HE rounds for them. Same with 9mm pistols. We never could get aviation support to train because they were grounded due to cuts in flight hours. There is a big difference between downsizing and deterioration. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

The missile defense system is more for defense against rogue nations ala North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. With the former Soviet Union losing control of a small portion of its warheads and China and North Korea selling missile technology it is perfectly feasible that a terrorist group could use an ICBM. A year ago everyone would have said that it wasn't feasible for terrorists to fly three commercial jets into large American buildings. If it never happens people will say he wasted money. If he doesn't do it and it happens everyone will want his head on a platter for not doing anything about it. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

Absolutely not. The downsizing of our military started with Bush Sr. The deterioration started with Clinton. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

If I remember correctly from fluid dynamics- terminal velocity = sqrt (2W/Cd r A) W = weight Cd = coefficient of drag. Found experimentally but changes based on the area of the body presented to the relative wind. Includes all forms of drag ie skin drag (type of suit), form drag (shape of body), and induced drag (wingtip vortices type drag). r = density of air (the less dense the air is ie the higher you start the fall from, the faster the terminal velocity is) A = area of the falling body presented to the relative wind. If you increase the area (boxman, birdman suit) your terminal velocity slows. If you decrease your area (head down) terminal velocity increases. When the force of drag on the body equals the weight of the body then acceleration becomes zero and you are at terminal velocity. If you assume that your weight is constant (it actually isn't but the change is negligible for our purposes) then the only thing you can effect is drag. The Fluid Dynamics book I'm reading from is 12 years old but all of this is should still be correct. Basically, what all of this says is that there is no arbitrary cap on terminal velocity of 170mph. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

From CNN: Do you think this might be helping Al Quaeda. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

OK, here is some of mine: -I am having to rank order locations that I would like to live for my new job. I ranked them based on how many DZs the locations have. -I am buying my new house based on its proximity to the DZ. -While driving cross country in my small, crappy, Nissan truck my rig is in the front seat and all my clothes are in the truck bed. -Emptied my 401K to pay for my rig. -Sold all of my former hobby equipment to pay for my rig. -My 3 year old son has the boxman and PRCP positions down exactly. -My budegeted personal money goes completely to skydiving. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."