So, that whole Iraq invasion thing was a good idea then...

Mynight · 11 Jun 2014 at 21:29

dannyjo22 said:
Yeah but Scotland will be handed back soon...

Danny75 · 11 Jun 2014 at 22:21

badcompany said:
You mean sadam was stopped from selling oil in Euros.

You mean Iraq and Libya's governments were overthrown because they were switching their oil trade payments from dollars to euros?

What about the weapons of mass destruction? And the way Gaddafi was bombing his countrymen (see Ukraine, present...)?

Stretch · 11 Jun 2014 at 22:39

Jokester said:
It's the new Afganistan. We'll be back in there within 10years.

We'll just find another Saddam.

Danthus · 11 Jun 2014 at 22:48

dowie said:
Iraqi Govt's fault really... Prime Minister didn't exactly deal well with some of his Sunni political counterparts. There is some preference amongst the ordinary Sunni population for ISIS despite them being extremists.

ISIS might be able to take Sunni cities but they've got very little chance in the south and the Kurds in the north are fairly independent too. Still Iraq is pretty screwed - sectarian divide was always a danger...

America and the UK created a power vacuum, installed a puppet government and then walked out.

What exactly did they think was going to happen?

itchy · 11 Jun 2014 at 22:54

OldCoals said:
America and the UK created a power vacuum, installed a puppet government and then walked out.

What exactly did they think was going to happen?

That trick never fails!

Amnesia · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:01

Got to feel sorry for the people of Iraq, things were far from good under Saddam but since the invasion those guys have been going through hell.

Danthus · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:03

Amnesia said:
Got to feel sorry for the people of Iraq, things were far from good under Saddam but since the invasion those guys have been going through hell.

Don't be daft, they live in a democracy now!

Dis86 · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:06

Amnesia said:
Got to feel sorry for the people of Iraq, things were far from good under Saddam but since the invasion those guys have been going through hell.

Well they didn't exactly treat the foreign troops there to try and solve the problem particularly well did they?
So you know...there's blame on both sides.

Amnesia · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:13

Dis86 said:
Well they didn't exactly treat the foreign troops there to try and solve the problem particularly well did they?
So you know...there's blame on both sides.

You mean they didn't want the foreign troops there in the first place but the foreign troops came in anyway and have left them in this mess ?

Danthus · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:14

Democracy via a 5.56 round rarely works.

[TW]Fox · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:15

Resident said:
But it was a good idea. The US have control of the oil fields so it's all ok.

Do they?

dowie · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:18

OldCoals said:
America and the UK created a power vacuum, installed a puppet government and then walked out.

What exactly did they think was going to happen?

any number of potential events... hindsight is a wonderful thing

Danthus · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:18

[TW]Fox;26441681 said:
Do they?

There are certainly a lot of non Iraqi petrochemical companies operating the oil fields.

dowie · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:19

Resident said:
But it was a good idea. The Chinese have control of the oil fields so it's all ok.

FYP

Dis86 · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:25

OldCoals said:
There are certainly a lot of non Iraqi petrochemical companies operating the oil fields.

In the UK North Sea sector there are certainly a lot of non British petrochemical companies operating...

So what's your point?

Dis86 · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:28

Amnesia said:
You mean they didn't want the foreign troops there in the first place but the foreign troops came in anyway and have left them in this mess ?

I seem to remember them being welcomed with open arms.
It just went to pot when it came to trying to get governance and repair work done.

randal · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:30

Dis86 said:
In the UK North Sea sector there are certainly a lot of non British petrochemical companies operating...

So what's your point?

That there wasn't a war in the North Sea that lead to many American based companies being awarded hefty rebuilding contracts?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f435f04-8c05-11e2-b001-00144feabdc0.html

Dis86 · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:35

randal said:
That there wasn't a war in the North Sea that lead to many American based companies being awarded hefty rebuilding contracts?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f435f04-8c05-11e2-b001-00144feabdc0.html

And yet a lot are awarded to foreign firms in this country too.

American corps were willing to take the risks in Iraq that other foreign nations weren't. Especially because they had government backing and military defence available.

Amnesia · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:40

Dis86 said:
I seem to remember them being welcomed with open arms.
It just went to pot when it came to trying to get governance and repair work done.

and all those who opposed them probably didn't want to face the tanks.

lurkio · 11 Jun 2014 at 23:48

badcompany said:
You mean sadam was stopped from selling oil in Euros.

Bingo

And we all know that would have been super bad for those trading oil in dollars .........