Originally Posted by AikiRooster

If I were President, I would pull our Olympic personnel out of there now. Bad air, bad people, no security, no USA.

If you or me were president there'd be a lot of things done differently

Originally Posted by AikiRooster

If I were President, I would pull our Olympic personnel out of there now. Bad air, bad people, no security, no USA.

I agree.

Bush's statement of "If we boycotted, it'd hurt their feelings," was beyond rediculous. That's the point of a boycott!

Originally Posted by AikiRooster

If I were President, I would pull our Olympic personnel out of there now. Bad air, bad people, no security, no USA.

Should everyone have pulled the pin on the Atlanta games when a bomb went off in 1996?
It clearly meets two of your requirements "Bad people" and "No security", I cant comment on air quality in city though.

if after the munich massacer everyone went on, why not after this?

Both MontyB and Sherman good points. I don't know, maybe it's just cuz I don't trust em since their commies and are against us on just about everything, but at same time almost always agree with the Ruskies who are also almost always against us as well.
Also, didn't think of that when I said/posted that, was thinking in the here and now. So, even though I don't like it much, I understand President Bush's words, that TOG posted, better.

This one's from CNN:

U.S. official: Russia's attack on Georgia is 'disproportionate'



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Russia's use of strategic bombers and ballistic missiles against Georgia's civilians outside of the South Ossetian conflict is "far disproportionate" to Georgia's alleged attack on Russian peacekeepers, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

The official was not authorized to speak on the record due to the sensitive nature of the diplomacy. Russia's use of its potent air weaponry signals a "severe" and "dangerous escalation in the crisis," the official said.

"For the life of me, I can't image that being a proportionate response to the charge that Georgia has attacked Russian peacekeepers," the official said. "It's hard for us to understand what Russia's plan is here."
The official said Russia is probably trying to destabilize Georgia politically to kill its chances of joining NATO.

Georgia wants to join NATO, but Russia opposes the move, concerned that the alliance's eastward march will erode its influence. NATO rejected Georgia's membership bid in April despite strong lobbying from U.S. President Bush, though the alliance promised that Georgia could join at a later date.

Still, Georgia bears some of the blame for the fighting over South Ossetia, the official said. Recently, the United States has had "very blunt exchanges with" Georgia, telling its leaders that they have no chance of winning a war with Russia and that they should stick to a path of diplomacy. The official said European allies have told the United States that Russia has "crossed a line of unacceptable behavior" and should "expect international condemnation."

"I do sense an emerging unified view among our key allies," he said.
The United Sates, Britain and NATO on Friday called for a cease-fire. And on Saturday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed an immediate cease-fire as part of a three-step plan to end fighting.

Sarkozy's proposal calls for the return of Russian and Georgian troops to their former positions and requires Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity be respected. A statement from Sarkozy's office did not provide further details on the plan. The official also said the State Department has authorized only the voluntary departure of dependents of U.S. embassy employees from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The official said he did not know how many dependents would choose to leave.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council held a private meeting on Georgia on Saturday, though it seemed unlikely that there would be any immediate agreement on a statement on the conflict. The U.S., European Union and international security organizations on Friday called for an end to the fighting Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday discussed the conflict in Beijing, where they attended the opening of the Summer Olympics.

The EU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were sending envoys to Georgia to secure a cease-fire, but a senior U.S. State Department official said the United States would send only a representative after a cease-fire is in place. The European Union said it was working with other parties "towards a ceasefire in order to prevent further escalation of this conflict." EU spokeswoman Christina Gallach told CNN: "We think it is not acceptable to see these scenes of bloodshed and destruction."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe...eax/index.html

If we were attacking in Iraq and A-stan without concern for civvie casualties, the war would be way over in those two states.

Look at this, they're bombing civilian apartments and houses. It's not only Russia violating international law and using disproportionate force against Georgia, it's also a crime against humanity!



http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe...tia/index.html

Well, Putin probably wants them to fear him and to try to gain better control to keep NATO out of the mix.
Damn this sucks, I really wanna like Putin but he makes it so damned difficult.

Originally Posted by AikiRooster

Well, Putin probably wants them to fear him and to try to gain better control to keep NATO out of the mix.
Damn this sucks, I really wanna like Putin but he makes it so damned difficult.

He's a man you have to respect, no matter how evil he may be...

Originally Posted by Lunatik

Look at this, they're bombing civilian apartments and houses. It's not only Russia violating international law and using disproportionate force against Georgia, it's also a crime against humanity!

This isn't pretty... looks a lot like the Yugoslavian invasion of Bosnia.

Originally Posted by AikiRooster

If we were attacking in Iraq and A-stan without concern for civvie casualties, the war would be way over in those two states.

I wish we could... but we can't if we're there to help them...