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Why does the War Memorial proudly display this booty from an "illegal war"?


Buckshot Bear

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Why does the War Memorial proudly display this booty from an "illegal war"?

 

In a glass case in the modern conflicts and Middle East galleries at the Australian War Memorial hangs a gold-plated assault rifle, an AK47 issued by Saddam Hussein to one of his personal guards.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/why-does-the-war-memorial-proudly-display-this-booty-from-an-illegal-war-20170503-gvy723.html

 

7e562bc6902e51a618c9a0da870c306841a771d2.webp.c283141c4a5728e4e86f9061cb2ec020.webp

 

The article is over 5 years old but I just came across it searching for something else and it made my blood boil.

 

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:angry: I bet that guy watches a lot of Disney movies. 

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@Chili Ron

Rifle Supply in Huntington Beach CA has a gold plated VEPR AK-47 with a gold plated mag for $4900 right now.

Not kidding.
It’s CA legal because it has a modified pistol grip. The original comes with the gun also. 

 

Perhaps I will see if they will let me take a photo of it to post here. It was there 2 days ago. 

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I think every war, since World War II, has been called an illegal (and also usually an immoral) war by somebody or other.

 

Why does that guy that wrote the article get to decide whether a war is legal or not?

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6 hours ago, Alpo said:

I think every war, since World War II, has been called an illegal (and also usually an immoral) war by somebody or other.

 

Why does that guy that wrote the article get to decide whether a war is legal or not?

 

Matter of perspective I suppose.  I think removing Saddam Hussein from power was a positive achievement, he was a threat to his neighbors and he murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people.

However the reasons the Bush administration used, possession of chemical weapons and links to Bin Ladin & 9/11, were more inaccurate than accurate.  While I don't care what the UN thinks, under international law our invasion of Iraq was at best a legally gray area, but that's hardly the first time its happened.

It doesn't help that the US made, with a lot of help from the Iraqi's, a mess of the country.

 

 

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PLUS ONE for Alpo

 

The gal who wrote the piece has a particular political axe to grind, as does the publisher who put it out there.  Our own home grown politics are bad enough without getting wrapped up in Australian politics.

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8 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

PLUS ONE for Alpo

 

The gal who wrote the piece has a particular political axe to grind, as does the publisher who put it out there.  Our own home grown politics are bad enough without getting wrapped up in Australian politics.

 

Well Australia got wrapped up in your politics that's why we were in Iraq alongside side you (as well as Afghanistan, Vietnam et al).

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14 hours ago, Chantry said:

 

Matter of perspective I suppose.  I think removing Saddam Hussein from power was a positive achievement, he was a threat to his neighbors and he murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people.

However the reasons the Bush administration used, possession of chemical weapons and links to Bin Ladin & 9/11, were more inaccurate than accurate.  While I don't care what the UN thinks, under international law our invasion of Iraq was at best a legally gray area, but that's hardly the first time its happened.

It doesn't help that the US made, with a lot of help from the Iraqi's, a mess of the country.

 

 

The whole WMD thing was Saddam's own fault.

 

He fooled EVERYBODY on that point.  Until the coalition forces got on the ground and proved otherwise, the entire world agreed that Saddam had at least chemical, and possibly biological, weapons.  He had not only had them but used them both on the Iraqi Kurds but also on the Iranians. 

 

The jump to the assumption that he still possessed chemical weapons wasn't as big of a reach as some would like us to believe.

 

He did it deliberately as another tool in his sabre-rattling to intimidate other nations and get concessions from the West but he miscalculated.

 

As for the mess in Iraq, that's at Bush's feet.  Win the war and get out.  Nation building never works and hasn't since WW2.  The only reason that it worked then was they because were more scared of the Russians than they hated us.

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Well, countries have been getting wrapped up in each other’s politics since 1914.

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On 7/1/2022 at 12:09 PM, Buckshot Bear said:

Why does the War Memorial proudly display this booty from an "illegal war"?

 

In a glass case in the modern conflicts and Middle East galleries at the Australian War Memorial hangs a gold-plated assault rifle, an AK47 issued by Saddam Hussein to one of his personal guards.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/why-does-the-war-memorial-proudly-display-this-booty-from-an-illegal-war-20170503-gvy723.html

 

7e562bc6902e51a618c9a0da870c306841a771d2.webp.c283141c4a5728e4e86f9061cb2ec020.webp

 

The article is over 5 years old but I just came across it searching for something else and it made my blood boil.

 

 

 ..... the author is either thick, dense, or stupid ....

 

       probably all of the above.

 

After 5 years, I wonder if the author is still as thick, dense and stupid as she was then ......   :huh:

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On 7/1/2022 at 10:37 PM, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

The whole WMD thing was Saddam's own fault.

 

He fooled EVERYBODY on that point.  Until the coalition forces got on the ground and proved otherwise, the entire world agreed that Saddam had at least chemical, and possibly biological, weapons.  He had not only had them but used them both on the Iraqi Kurds but also on the Iranians. 

 

The jump to the assumption that he still possessed chemical weapons wasn't as big of a reach as some would like us to believe.

 

He did it deliberately as another tool in his sabre-rattling to intimidate other nations and get concessions from the West but he miscalculated.

 

As for the mess in Iraq, that's at Bush's feet.  Win the war and get out.  Nation building never works and hasn't since WW2.  The only reason that it worked then was they because were more scared of the Russians than they hated us.

 

Saddam was more clever than smart.  There were reports that there was a large number of trucks leaving Iraq  and going to Syria.  It is possible that Iraq's WMD's were on those trucks although I doubt we'll ever know for sure.

 

Certainly Bush deserves his fair share of the blame, but not all of it.  Mostly because Iraq was a police state and partly because the US always relies far more on technical intelligence than human intelligence, we were forced to rely on Iraq expatriates for reports on what the average Iraqi thought.  They had their own agenda, which didn't always match up with what the US wanted to do after the conventional military part of the invasion was over.

 

Yes, the US is very bad at nation building, we just don't seem to grasp that other countries don't want to be like the US.  I think the occupation might have gone better if a US general had been military governor of Iraq, unfortunately the State Department weenies ended up in charge instead.

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16 hours ago, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

 

 ..... the author is either thick, dense, or stupid ....

 

       probably all of the above.

 

After 5 years, I wonder if the author is still as thick, dense and stupid as she was then ......   :huh:

Wanna lay some money on it?:D

 

I'm willin' to bet that, unless she's had a serious, life changing, Come to Jesus moment in the meantime, she's probably at least as dumb now- if not dumber.

 

That intense a level of stupid doesn't just disappear. 

 

It's gotta be ripped out using brute force, the gaping hole cauterized and an occasional dose of reality spread over the empty spot to keep it from regrowing.

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20 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Well, countries have been getting wrapped up in each other’s politics since 1914.

I think your being a bit generous there Bob.

Maybe the 11th Century if you want to count the Crusades?

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4 hours ago, Major Crimes said:

I think your being a bit generous there Bob.

Maybe the 11th Century if you want to count the Crusades?

Far before that if you count the Silk Road!

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1 hour ago, DeaconKC said:

Far before that if you count the Silk Road!

Or the way the Romans played the barbarian tribes against each other.  Atilla was a Roman ally against the Goths- and Rome allied with the Goths against th Huns.

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1 hour ago, DeaconKC said:

Far before that if you count the Silk Road!

 

23 minutes ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

Or the way the Romans played the barbarian tribes against each other.  Atilla was a Roman ally against the Goths- and Rome allied with the Goths against th Huns.

 

What can you say?

 

Mankind, messing up the world since Adam lost a rib.

 

Humans, not a fan!

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The human race would be much better off if everyone stopped trying to win it!!

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As an Aussie who served in that war (as a Lieutenant onboard HMAS SYDNEY)....I have to ask in just what sense it was "illegal"? ....given  I received, from our Government, the Active Service Medal and Service Medal (both with "Kuwait" clasp) and the Returned from Active Service Badge...  AND from the Government of Saudi Arabia (the big brother of the Middle East) the "Liberation of Kuwait" medal.     Unusual to be rewarded for illegal activities, no?   While there we saw (and in some cases operated with) ships from the Navies of the USA, the UK, Russia, Holland and Argentina.     That was from the total of 15 Nations that contributed 6 Aircraft carriers, 2 Battleships, 15 Cruisers, 67 Destroyers and Frigates and over 100 amphibious, logistic and smaller craft.  If it was "illegal" then a hell of a lot of countries decided to "break the law"... :D

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On 7/2/2022 at 5:00 PM, Major Crimes said:

I think your being a bit generous there Bob.

Maybe the 11th Century if you want to count the Crusades?

I was trying to keep it current. Looking back more than a gentry gets really hard for some folks. Especially that reporter. ;)

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On 7/4/2022 at 9:50 PM, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I was trying to keep it current. Looking back more than a gentry gets really hard for some folks. Especially that reporter. ;)

Of course "Current" is relative to who we are:rolleyes:

 

My standard come back to a cheeky young'un is "I was in the Army when Centurion was a rank not a tank".

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On 7/1/2022 at 9:37 PM, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

The whole WMD thing was Saddam's own fault.

 

He fooled EVERYBODY on that point.  Until the coalition forces got on the ground and proved otherwise, the entire world agreed that Saddam had at least chemical, and possibly biological, weapons.  He had not only had them but used them both on the Iraqi Kurds but also on the Iranians. 

 

The jump to the assumption that he still possessed chemical weapons wasn't as big of a reach as some would like us to believe.

 

He did it deliberately as another tool in his sabre-rattling to intimidate other nations and get concessions from the West but he miscalculated.

 

As for the mess in Iraq, that's at Bush's feet.  Win the war and get out.  Nation building never works and hasn't since WW2.  The only reason that it worked then was they because were more scared of the Russians than they hated us.

 

i agree , i was never convinced completely but he had said it and im still one that takes a terrorist words to heart and believe we deal with it decisively - if they lied , its on them , 

also agree - get in / get out , dont hang out fixin chit that cant be fixed , 

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