Gnadenburg,
My post was unclear.
1. I was in Vietnam with the Australian army and have first-hand knowledge of what happens to the little people like us in the conflict and its aftermath.
2. I stated my belief of the political/strategic reasons for our government's decision to send troops to Iraq.
3. I am opposed to sending Australian forces to Iraq but when they do go I will support them while they're there and when they return unlike the treatment we received during and after SVN.
4. I have lived and worked in the Middle East and have friends in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. None of those friends are religious fundamentalists or want to harm anyone but they don't run their countries any more than we do ours.
The strategies of all those countries are based on the common Middle Eastern philosophy: 'The friend of my friend is my friend, the enemy of my friend is my enemy, the enemy of my enemy is my friend' hence I don't ever expect peace in the Middle East.
Cheers,
BW