irateplatypus

i'm honestly confused...

i can't decide whether or not you mean thread when you say post.

anyway...
if you're implying that much of what i've written is speculation... then i wholeheartedly agree. that's basically what many of us do on an internet board. speculate, cite, debate... that is why i'm here at least. why you yourself pontificated a bit just above your most recent post... and tfp is all the better for it.

going to a middle-east country is certainly the most effective way to ascertain the truth but i don't believe that efforts to understand the situation from research and discussion here at home is completely vain.

this entire thread is about understanding the situation and "the other side". i've never claimed to have a monopoly on the truth of the situation, if i did i wouldn't have ended the opening post on this thread with 4 consecutive questions. just because i've already given the issue some thought and have already formed preliminary opinions doesn't mean i'm not interested in the opinions of others or that i will not be changed by them.

__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill