On this day in history

[goodoldboy]

On this day in 2001 US launches air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the first retaliatory response to the 9/11 attacks.

and 19 years later they're negotiating for peace with the Taliban undefeated.

 

[Tractionman]

U.S. didnt launch enough then !

 

[goodoldboy]

U.S. didnt launch enough then !

well they did drop "the mother of all bombs " south of Jalalabad in 2017 to speedily defeat ISIS , which worked out really well.
as for the 2001 strikes the objective was to get the taliban to hand over Bin Laden - they had offered to do this if the US would provide evidence of his involvement in 9/11.Those in intelligence & foreign affairs who knew their history advocated for a more subtle approach , maybe some back channel diplomacy .Everyone has their price & Pakistani support for the so called war on terror was obtained with a large "aid package " another option was to use special forces who were drooling at the prospect.
The problem was that Bush , Cheney & Rumsfeld had been given a blank cheque by the most gullible , ignorant, uncritical and reactionary elements in society , flag waving simpletons who can't tell the difference between vengeance and justice.
But every cloud has a silver lining in this case in the form of the estimated 1.52 000 000 000 000 dollars that this war has cost so far shared out amongst the myriad of arms dealers , private mercenary companies & other ghoulish parasites.Which of course begs the question of what's the difference between one set of fanatics and another ?

 

[Tractionman]

Fanatics, anarchists, - all nutters fighting for power and control.

 

[Chris]

On this day - 6th October Eddie Van Halen died.
Another true great gone. Aged 65.

Damn dude.

 

[goodoldboy]

I was against the "war on terror " from day one . Which side were you on
Tractionman ?
Anarchists are against power and control , that's the whole point so why dont you read up a little about the subject ? Might save you from making the ludicrous claim that Pol Pot was an anarchist
Yeah Chris it's a shame about Van Halen .

 

[Tractionman]

Steady on GOB, just because my views differ to yours, don't get your knickers in a twist, or you'll have Chris out with the big stick !!
There you go with ludicrous claims.If you got your facts right you would know that I never made such claims .
Why don't you read up a little bit, then you would know how ludicrous your statement about that is !!
Perhaps you could show where, so we can all see ?

 

[goodoldboy]

Today is the birthday of John Lennon , born in Liverpool in 1940 and the anniversary of the murder of Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967.

 

[Tractionman]

Still waiting ?

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1984 An IRA bomb blast targets the Conservative Party conference in Brighton, killing five people.

 

[goodoldboy]

On this day in 1984 An IRA bomb blast targets the Conservative Party conference in Brighton, killing five people.

Dark days. Having family & friends living in London was a worry every time a bomb went off.It would be another 14 years until the definitive end to the conflict.

 

[Chas]

Margaret Thatcher was born this day 13th October in 1925, I wonder what she would have made of the UK now?

I know some people hated her but I think she was the best thing since Winston Churchill.

 

[goodoldboy]

As someone who hates what Thatcher did i don't have a high opinion of Churchill .The state of the UK now is her legacy , a predictable outcome of her ideology.

 

[Chas]

On this day in 1995 The Bridge of Skye is officially opened, amid protests from residents over the tolls

 

[goodoldboy]

On this day, 19 October 1989, after 15 years in prison, a UK judge quashed the convictions of the Guildford Four calling them unreliable and based on confessions extracted by police through violence and threats against family members. The four innocent Irish people had been framed for bombings of two pubs in Guildford by the pro-independence Irish Republican Army, which killed four soldiers and a construction worker. No police were punished for the torture or lies.

 

[Chas]

On this day, 215 years ago, a few thousand highly-trained sailors under Admiral Lord Nelson delivered "a great and glorious victory" at Trafalgar with HMS Victory as its flagship.

 

[goodoldboy]

It wasn't a fair fight.The Royal Navy at the time was so far ahead in so many areas.For those interested i can recommend
The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815
by
Nicholas A.M. Rodger
A comprehensive work but also very accessible.

 

[Chas]

It wasn't a fair fight.The Royal Navy at the time was so far ahead in so many areas.
A comprehensive work but also very accessible.

All's fair in love and war so they say.

 

[Shayne]

History was written and recorded by the victors every step of the way , but i actually support the current trend of denying and erasing history . Lets destroy all man made structures and start again living in caves - survival of the fittest , oh what a wonderful world it would be

 

[goodoldboy]

but i actually support the current trend of denying and erasing history

not sure what you mean ? something to do with the destruction of the statue of Edward Colston ?