Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Member Profile

Total number of comments: 3 (since 2013-11-28 16:55:13)

Rag.

Showing comments 3 - 1
Page: 1

  • McCain Plays Politics with Obama's Iraq Withdrawal
    • Rag. 11/16/2011 at 2:40 am with 3 replies

      Calling US military in Iraq an occupation is to me calling a zebra striped. What else would it be called? 'My' country (Sweden) is currently occupying a corner of Afghanistan. No other word for it. Once there is a local power (preferably democratic) and security in place the occupation needs to cease before people start to hate the occupiers to much.

      I can't really understand from my perspective what McCain (and the republicans?) is getting at here other than the Obama-did-this-so-we-have-to-make-a-fuss factor. Do (R) actually think that the US should benefit from staying in Iraq, if so in what way?

  • Anthony Case Index
    • Rag. 07/08/2011 at 11:01 am with 6 replies

      As a European I thought the following might be your point (until I clicked that first link);

      Intentional homocides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009 (some 2008)
      United States: 5.0

      European countries over 4.0:
      Russia: 15
      Kazakhstan: 11
      Lithuania: 9.0
      Georgia: 7.6
      Moldova: 7.2
      Estonia: 7.1
      Belarus: 5.6
      Ukraine: 5.4
      Latvia: 4.8
      Albania: 4.5

      A selection of other Europeans:
      Romania: 2.3
      Azerbaijan, Serbia: 2.0
      Czech Republic: 1.9
      Croatia: 1.7
      Ireland, UK, France: 1.3
      Poland: 1.2
      Italy, Greece: 1.1
      Spain, Germany: 0.9
      Austria: 0.5

      All found on Wikipedias 'list of countries by...'

      It would be very rude of me to make any comments about this. 🙂

  • Gates & NATO: Misery Loves Company
    • Rag. 06/12/2011 at 10:55 am

      You are right on the spot. Europe does not currently need a standing military anywhere close to cold-war levels. There are simply no immediate military threats to european countries today.

      I live in Sweden - situated right on the old cold-war front. We have gone from conscripted armed forces prepared to mobilize the entire able population within a few weeks to being able to mobilize approx 40 000 within 10 days and 30 000 more within 2 years. The vast majority here do not miss that or having the phrase 'Every message that the resistance should end is false.' written on the special war page in the phone book.

      We are however not members of NATO (only PfP), and do not have any obligation to support the US global warfare (even though we currently have troops in Afghanistan). The only reason for us to have armed forces at all today is international missions (e.g. we currently have planes flying recon over Libya), keeping our obligations to the EU (NBG), maintaining somewhat updated equipment and help society handle local diasasters (snowstorms).

Showing comments 3 - 1
Page: 1

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • The Day Evin Prison Burned: Why Israel's Attack Crossed a Moral Line
  • America's worsening Solar Gap with China, which installs 100 Panels per Second
  • Early Farming in Middle East, Sometimes Matriarchal, Spread through Learning, not Conquest
  • How Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral Primary could Ripple across the Country
  • Siamese Criminals: Trump and Netanyahu

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved