Dear SteeleRedux,

Here's an article that you may find of interest:

http://newmatilda.com/2014/08/31/common-sense-case-against-western-intervention-iraq

That article was half-baked, a complete waste of time. However it was worth reading this letter in reply,

"What a load of codswallopp this piece is, It is the worst kind of apologia for Islamic nutters I have ever seen. The simple fact is that this mob of religious zealots stand for every thing that civilized people abhor.

As they blithely ignore every concept of civilized behavior, you know trivial things like not slaughtering civilians and prisoners, selling women into sexual slavery, like forcing people to chose between converting to their brand of Islam and being beheaded Michael Brull is telling us to just look the other way and eventually some one else will deal with them!

This article utterly "jumps the shark" there are thousands of reasons to fight this blight upon humanity now, before they get even more established and to do so does not require any western boots on the ground, Drones and hellfire missiles along with regular air strikes can and will make enough of a difference that the existing forces on the ground can excise this cancer, because to do nothing in the face of such barbarity is just not something that even the most ardent socialist should contemplate unless they want to be forced to pray five times a day and give up all of the freedoms that have been so hard won over the last century or so."

Posted for those who are not afraid to exercise their own mind and do not depend on flakey 'independent' sites and blogs to tell them what they should think.

otb,

So pleased that you've found a kindred spirit on
"New Matilda," one who undoubtedly appreciates
the opportunity to express their views uncensored
on a site that does encourage free expression and deeper
thought than the filtered stuff that comes down
the colon of the main stream media.

Foxy,

The vexing dilemma that confronts respectable, credible sources is that they must sometimes reply to foolishness -as I am doing right now- to correct misleading statements, although in so doing one always risks lending some belief to the original unsubstantiated and unreliable claims.

otb,

I'm so glad that you're not the same old
sausage fizzing and sputtering in your own grease.

With The Labor Party basically playing second fiddle to Abbott on the potential of Australia being drawn into yet another useless war in Iraq. It has been left to The Greens and Andrew Wilkie to raise the lack of parliamentary consultation on this very important issue. Abbott is gung ho, as is Labor, when it comes to Australia's involvement in American sanctioned war. We have failed to learn from our past mistakes of sycophantic support of America as it pursues its global interests, in lands far removed from Australia.
I think Paul McGeough put it well in today's SMH under the heading of 'Abbott shows Australia still at America's beck and call'.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/australia-still-at-americas-beck-and-call-20140831-10albb.html

Deputy Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP condemned the Government’s failure to allow a House debate on sending forces to Iraq.
“The government has shut out any debate in the House of Representatives on Australian military involvement in Iraq," said Mr Bandt.
"All the House of Representatives gets is a non-binding discussion after the decision to join the war has been made. It's a sham."
“Prime Minster Tony Abbott and Labor are in lockstep, but the Greens will stand up for the right of Australians to decide whether to get involved in another war in Iraq,” said Mr Bandt.