Democrats Fear 'October Surprise'

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
Rommel wasn't a nazi, and several times before D-Day he had urged Hitler to surrender, stating that the hold of territories gained by invasion would be bartering chips lost if an invasion succeeded. So I can see how he would be sympathetic to the plot and thus Hitler's need to eliminate him.

You're correct on that regard. Rommel was never a member of the NSDAP (the acronym 'Nazi' was rarely used within Germany). He did command Hitler's Army escort and protection battalion at the beginning of the war. Along with that he was already a minor celebrity, having written Infanterie greift an ("Infantry Attacks" - his account of combat service in World War I; probably the best book on modern small-unit infantry tactics).

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
If I was as lacking in that faculty as you are, I don't know that I'd have the grace to compliment others.

Thanks!

"If I were"

-RC
--Grammar police!

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by KSig RC
"If I were"

-RC
--Grammar police!

Hey you right-wing grammar fascist - it's was, because if you dropped the if...

"I was at the bank"

is correct, and

"I were at the bank"

makes you sound like you're a redneck.

[Love_Spell_6]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
If I was as lacking in that faculty as you are, I don't know that I'd have the grace to compliment others.

Thanks!

go play now little girl

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
Hey you right-wing grammar fascist - it's was, because if you dropped the if...

"I was at the bank"

is correct, and

"I were at the bank"

makes you sound like you're a redneck.

Nope - subjunctive

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by Love_Spell_6
go play now little girl

Awww Love Spell is angwy.

You hate me because I'm AmeriKKKan, right?

And Rob, I think this debate will have to be continued later because I still think I'm right.

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
Awww Love Spell is angwy.

You hate me because I'm AmeriKKKan, right?

And Rob, I think this debate will have to be continued later because I still think I'm right.

nah, you're not even close dude - the "remove the if" thing is a very elementary way of grammar deconstruction, and it doesn't apply here. Peep this link here , I'm presuming you're using the 'if' clause as being contrary to fact, therefore I am correct.


If I were a better man, I would have taken courses that matter instead of modern english grammar (EN513).

[honeychile]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Haven't read that particular book... but I'll keep it in mind to read it if I see it.

William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is probably one of the best (and concise) books about that dark period in German history. Harder to find is his other book Berlin Diary, a first hand account of living in Berlin as the CBS correspondent there during the rise of Nazi Germany and the early years of WW II.

A well-researched and concise history of the dreaded SS is The Order of the Death's Head by Heinz Höhne.

I've read the first two (well, almost finished with The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich), but haven't heard of the third book. I'll trot on over to Amazon.com right now!

My understanding on Rommel was that those in charge of the July 20, 1944 plot kept lists of who was going to hold which position in the "new Germany", and he was fairly prominent on the lists. It was never confirmed whether or not he even knew about the list. That's part of The Berlin Diaries that I mentioned; Missie was the secretary for Adam von Trott, and kept copious notes on the plot in a secret shorthand, which she translated just prior to her death. She mentions all sorts of names of those involved, including the Bismarks.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by KSig RC
nah, you're not even close dude - the "remove the if" thing is a very elementary way of grammar deconstruction, and it doesn't apply here. Peep this link here , I'm presuming you're using the 'if' clause as being contrary to fact, therefore I am correct.


If I were a better man, I would have taken courses that matter instead of modern english grammar (EN513).

According to your crazy rules, you are in fact right.

[Shortfuse]

I would love to see Bin Laden captured.

But with that being said, if he's captured in any place OTHER than Iraq, then we wasted time, lives, and valuable resources. Bin Laden was teh main objective (well the first anyway) in our war against Terrorism and to set out sights somewhere else before capturing him was completely short-sighted. But I pray we can bottle him up and crush his organization.

[Love_Spell_6]

Originally posted by Shortfuse
Bin Laden was teh main objective (well the first anyway) in our war against Terrorism and to set out sights somewhere else before capturing him was completely short-sighted.

See that's the main area where many Bush supporters disagree with supporters of the guy that served in Vietnam. The war on terror is multi-faceted and it doesn't begin and end with any ONE place or any ONE person. The US was late getting into the game and we should have been on war-footing decades ago. No one likes change..and I think Bush is the first president that is putting the US on the offensive instead of the defensive. I actually think he'll be appreciated many years down the road...vs now where people want to write him off as an evil Texan who just wants to pick fights.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by Shortfuse
Bin Laden was teh main objective (well the first anyway) in our war against Terrorism and to set out sights somewhere else before capturing him was completely short-sighted.

Bin Laden was NEVER the main objective in this war. It was widely understood that Al Qaeda was structured in a way that if it was decapitated, it would keep functioning.

The War on Terror is based on the notion that the only way to prevent another 9-11 (or worse) is to eliminate the root causes that allow Al Qaeda to exist. This means remaking the Middle East so that incompetent governments don't blame the US, through demagoguery, for everything. It means removing the influence of the radical madrassas. It also means that its time for the Middle East to cease being one of the few areas on Earth that is disengaged from the rest of humanity.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
Bin Laden was NEVER the main objective in this war. It was widely understood that Al Qaeda was structured in a way that if it was decapitated, it would keep functioning.

Terrorism picked up a thing or two from the communist playbook: compartmentalize yourself into small cells so that the loss of an operative by capture or death won't kill off the whole organization.

Whacking or capturing Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and or any of the identified top dogs of al-Qaeda won't kill off the organization. You need to be systematic and absolutely ruthless to wipe out all traces of al-Qaeda and any allied terror associations before you can rightfully say 'the war against terrorism is won'. And that's no guarantee that another hothead will find a cache of weapons and start the process all over again.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Terrorism picked up a thing or two from the communist playbook: compartmentalize yourself into small cells so that the loss of an operative by capture or death won't kill off the whole organization.

Whacking or capturing Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and or any of the identified top dogs of al-Qaeda won't kill off the organization. You need to be systematic and absolutely ruthless to wipe out all traces of al-Qaeda and any allied terror associations before you can rightfully say 'the war against terrorism is won'. And that's no guarantee that another hothead will find a cache of weapons and start the process all over again.

If the talent and leadership of these murderers are liquidated, they will fall apart after a while. This is assuming other tasks are undertaken as well to eliminate their support...sorta like dieting while exercising.

-Rudey

[Shortfuse]

Originally posted by Rudey
If the talent and leadership of these murderers are liquidated, they will fall apart after a while. This is assuming other tasks are undertaken as well to eliminate their support...sorta like dieting while exercising.

-Rudey

I can go with that.