Iraq: What to do?

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by bono_212

It bugs me that we used to be informed of these things and now we're not. Why did that change? Transparency was nice.

Yeah, when I first came back I went to check out the bannings thread and was disappointed to see that it hadn't been updated in years. It was always a thrill when a new banning happened.

[Diemen]

You don't need to know about these bannings.



No, seriously, though, I understand. Honestly I'm not sure the exact reason those threads ended, though it did turn out to be bit too much like people gawking over the tabloids.

And for those still wondering, Buk was Sting

[bono_212]

I can understand locking the IO thread, it did occasionally get out of hand, but I would like to know, for example, whether or not Zoot's 3rd alter is still around, or not, because there have been times I was going to address him, but then didn't bother because, seriously, why bother if he may or may not be here. That make sense?

I assumed as much, considering the forum

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by Diemen

You don't need to know about these bannings.

You can go about your business.

Move along.

[BoMac]

That was, perhaps, the greatest alter this decade.

[bono_212]

Buk?

[BoMac]

Perhaps.

 

Yes.

__________________

[BVS]

He'll sting you, bug you, strongbow you, and more... and you can bet he'll be back.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

[bono_212]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Perhaps.

 

Yes.

Zoot's alter was amazing. The reveal was just...a beauty.

[BoMac]

Originally Posted by bono_212

Zoot's alter was amazing. The reveal was just...a beauty.

It was a reference to his comment in the Coldplay thread about Ghost Stories perhaps being the best album this decade.

Anyway, I don't want to derail this thread any further.

[bono_212]

OOhhh fuck yes, that's right, my mistake

[PhilsFan]

I love how his way of trying to make it seem like he was someone else was to rant about how 70-year-olds are really physically fit these days and Harrison Ford should be fine with this new Star Wars shit.

[U2DMfan]

One thing that Sting (as Strongbow, IIRC) used to argue was that Joe Biden was totally full of shit for his 'partitioning of Iraq into three countries' idea. And maybe that idea still can't work, but clearly Biden wasn't totally off his rocker. Whereas, Sting is a legit neocon (read: wrong on everything w/r/t foreign policy).

But even worse, he thinks that albums sales = quality. I knew it was him when he was making those arguments in the U2 album thread. Been reading that shit for years.

[Kieran McConville]

Tons of people on this larger forum think that album sales = quality. I'm afraid that short of ranting about UN resolution 1441 I would never have been sure who it was.

[Vincent Vega]

Now that ISIS has declared the formation of a caliphate under al-Baghdadi, I'm for the translation of Iznogud into Arabic and mass distribution throughout Iraq and Syria. Mock the shit out of him.

[Vincent Vega]

The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region has told the BBC he intends to hold a referendum on independence within months.

Massoud Barzani said that Iraq was already "effectively partitioned".

While the Kurds would play a part in a political solution to the crisis caused by jihadist-led Sunni Arab rebellion, independence was their right, he added.

Meanwhile, the first session of Iraq's new parliament has been adjourned after deputies failed to elect a new speaker.

Acting Speaker Mahdi al-Hafez called off proceedings after most of the Sunni and Kurdish members of the House of Representatives did not return after a break, meaning there was not a quorum present.

BBC News - Iraq Kurdistan independence referendum planned

[deep]

Bush/Cheney: Destroyer-Creator Of Nations!

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by Vincent Vega

BBC News - Iraq Kurdistan independence referendum planned

Good. That has been a long time coming.

[Jacobite]

ISIS take over Iraq's Mosul dam after Kurds withdraw. Not good news.

[Vincent Vega]

Though in fact they weren't. Rudaw, a local Kurdish news outlet (close to the Kurdish Democratic Party, KDP) was there and around the dam. ISIS wasn't to be seen. Nonetheless, they are very close and have taken different villages in the Shingal which is mainly home to Yezidi people. Right now there is a Kurdish counteroffensive with, as sources say, 10,000 troops. They evacuated the area when about 200 Peshmerga were facing some 4,000 ISIS troops. Many Yezidi fled, some into the mountains. Others were executed and a number of women was taken hostage. And, of course, they began destroying ancient holy sights of the Yezidi.
Yezidi are an ancient religion which is unique to the area and seen as having a pact with the devil by groups like ISIS.
The Peshmerga received heava weaponry including tanks from the US yesterday which aids in the counter-offensive. One high ranking US source (according to Rudaw) claimed the US offered air support, but that's not verified. Baghdad has also offered air support, but I'd worry too much about "friendly fire" with them. Other unverified news were that YPG fighters, the Kurdish fighters in Syria, crossed the border to lock down the Western flank of the ISIS fighters.

In the meantime, Saudi Arabia mobilized 30,000 additional soldiers for fear of an attack by ISIS.