Angelina Jolie brings out the big guns

I would see it as something akin to what the United States has had with Germany and Japan since the end of World War Two. While not having direct control we would have great influence in the Iraqi government, enough to meet goals such as large bases and a military presence without the baggage like in Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
 
I don't think such a comparison is accurate. Was there really any resistance to the occupation of Germany and Japan? The military was much larger and let's not even begin to compare the economy back then to now.
 
^ Actually, yes there was. There was also a strong insurgent force, especially in Germany. Allied soldiers took to fitting tall cutting blades on the front bumpers of the Jeeps because insurgents would string piano or other wire over the road at neck height in an attempt to decapitate drivers and passengers in open vehicles.
 
Blind_Io said:
^ Actually, yes there was. There was also a strong insurgent force, especially in Germany. Allied soldiers took to fitting tall cutting blades on the front bumpers of the Jeeps because insurgents would string piano or other wire over the road at neck height in an attempt to decapitate drivers and passengers in open vehicles.
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I don't doubt that there were Nazi sympathisers that carried out attacks. But I wouldn't call them a "strong insurgent force" and nowhere near the scale of that in Iraq.

But if you have sources that prove otherwise, I'm open to reading them.

One could argue that the heavy-handed approach by Allied forces (internments etc) prevented such a force from being organized.
 
Firecat said:
I don't think such a comparison is accurate. Was there really any resistance to the occupation of Germany and Japan? The military was much larger and let's not even begin to compare the economy back then to now.
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Well, there was a huge war that preceded the occupation of Germany and Japan in which both those countries were fighting for all they were worth. I think you could call that a "resistance to the occupation" of those countries :) It's not like they just threw their arms down and let the Allies come in from the beginning. We had to kick their asses first. At that point, their morale was shattered and, as a result, there wasn't a large scale resistance, although there was some, such as what Blind mentioned.
 
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But we were referring to the period after WWII. The will to carry on was just lost for the most part.

I tried to find some more information on this topic (like casualities), but couldn't. Every source backs up my assertion.
 
Yeah, but you have to look at the whole picture (i.e. the events leading up to the period after) to understand why there wasn't more resistance immediately following the war.
 
There is a big difference between Germany/Japan and Iraq the former were prosperous before being occupied. Yes the US did help them but they already knew how to run a successful economy and the like. The Middle East has been going down hill ever since the 16th century when world trade moved to the Atlantic.

The US dose not need bases in Iraq, nor Turkey or Saudi Arabia. The only reason US bases exist in Turkey was so the US could put nukes on the Soviet border.
 
What the fuck!? I came here expecting some stonking great tittery!!!:mad:
 
That's it! "Great tittery" has just been officially added to my lexicon!
 
jetsetter said:
I would see it as something akin to what the United States has had with Germany and Japan since the end of World War Two. While not having direct control we would have great influence in the Iraqi government, enough to meet goals such as large bases and a military presence without the baggage like in Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_war

You're a learned man, surely you must know this bit of American history. The parallels, from what I see, between that and today's war are shocking.

Those who fail to learn history, yada yada yada.
 
BlaRo said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine-American_war

You're a learned man, surely you must know this bit of American history. The parallels, from what I see, between that and today's war are shocking.

Those who fail to learn history, yada yada yada.
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Oh yes, I have noticed some interesting parallels. Most interesting is that even after the war we still maintained a presence for over 90 years right up until the end of the Cold War.

Some of the military leadership on the islands during the war came up with some useful tactics against a similar type of fighting that the US is facing in Iraq. I hope that someone took a look at that.
 
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