valleyboyabroad's Articles In International
April 30, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
According to a New York times/CBS poll, Americans are becoming increasingly critical about the way that Bush is handling the war in Iraq. Now let me point out here first that when it comes to polls they can be mean many things. There's one US poll out today fopr example that says terrorism has decreased over the last year (good job Bush) and another one released by the Japanese that says terrorism has increased by 30% (bad job Bush) over the last twelve months so take your pick. But ...
March 29, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The latest reason for invading Iraq being pushed by the Whitehouse is that it caused Libya to forsake it's nuclear programme. But did it? The Whitehouse has proven itself time and again to be liars, at the worst interpretation, and incompetent at the kindest of interpretations. So let's look at the facts. Five years ago, Britain resumed diplomatic relations with Libya. Libya's economy was a wreck, screaming for relief from Western sanctions and in desperate need for outward inv...
March 20, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
With the protests around the world marking the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, Bush is claiming that things are getting better in Iraq. Most people I'm assuming are familiar with the stated objectives of PNAC. But what is the grand objective of whoever plotted this war? When you get fantasists like Bush claiming that things are 'going well' in Iraq, surely that begs the question, 'measured against what criterion?' In order to claim success or ...
March 19, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The San   At times of the year, the Kalahari desert is a misnomer.   Following the seasonal rains it becomes a living carpet of green lushness and blossoming wild flowers.   It is a good time for the San, gathering berries, roots, leaves which they will roast or press for an evening meal.   The San people that have lived here for at least 40,000 years, but their future is not as certain or clear as the sudden abundance of food that they are foragin...
March 19, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The San people are a direct link to the past for all mankind. They have lived as hunter gatherers in the Kalahari for an estimated 30,000 years. They hunt the eland antelope, a large and dangerous beast. A small group of men, five or so, set out on the hunt. First they scare up a herd of eland, and identify the strongest, fittest male with the largest horns. Working silently using only hand signals, they slowly split off the male from the rest of the herd. The large male...
March 16, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The recent Spanish atrocity had bought home the truth that the war against terrorism is not going well, as some would have us believe.But rather than whine about it, what can be done to avert these attacks? 1. Hit them in the pocket. From the top down, the terrorists can be most effectively combatted by killing their finances.Money laundering is now the worlds third biggest industry, and in that rotten pile are funds that are made available to support the terrorist networks.Remember when the U...
March 16, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The recent Spanish atrocity had bought home the truth that the war against terrorism is not going well, as some would have us believe. But rather than whine about it,  what can be done to avert these attacks? 1. Hit them in the pocket. From the top down, the terrorists can be most effectively combatted by killing their finances. Money laundering is now the worlds third biggest industry, and in that rotten pile are funds that are made available to support the terroris...
March 14, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
The war on terrorism, post Iraq. As the streets of Madrid flood with up to 12 million people marching in grief, horror and outrage at the latest terrorist atrocity that murdered at least 200 people and wounded 1400 others people, the question springs to mind that there has been little progress on the so called war against terrorism.   Osama remains uncaptured, terrorist atrocities occur with an almost monotonous frequency, and the US is bogged down in an ungovernable and as it...
March 13, 2004 by valleyboyabroad
Iraq - One year on.   One year ago, the US war machine rolled into Iraq, and met with little resistance.   The US had ignored the UN, and argued the case for war on intelligence that was later to be proven groundless and inncurate.   Many people at the time, even those dismayed at the US illegal action, asked the simple and reasonable question.   Having gone in, how would they get out?   This is known as the exit strategy, and all good military ...