How to lose allies ...

shillelagh · 16-01-2010, 19:19

The americans have a knack of upsetting their 'friends' ....

BBC News - Spanish MP's photo 'used for Osama Bin Laden poster'

Wonder if he's going to disneyworld in florida for his next holiday ... wonder if he gets past immigration ...

Mancie · 16-01-2010, 19:29

The F.B.I and the C.I.A are fumbling high grade college boys .. British "intelligence" agencies are no better..MI5 ain't a patch on Bowdie n Doyle.

DaveinGermany · 16-01-2010, 19:58

It seems to be the way with the Americans, they are so enveloped in themselves that they fail to notice what is really going on around them.

Should you be an American viewing this, before you go off on one think about it first, then respond.

steeljack · 16-01-2010, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

It seems to be the way with the Americans, they are so enveloped in themselves that they fail to notice what is really going on around them.

Should you be an American viewing this, before you go off on one think about it first, then respond.

this went the rounds a while ago , but seems to answer your question

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked
by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many
of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom
beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in
return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international
engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a
break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have
you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an
aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he
intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three
hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are
nuclear powered and can supply
emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three
cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they
can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each
day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have
eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies..
At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of
Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a
French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many
languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that
we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his
carry on.

'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked
sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.

'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival
in France !'

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly
explained, 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a
passport to.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

Mancie · 16-01-2010, 21:11

Thing is Steeljack I've never heard anyone question the bravery of US soldiers or their commanders.. but when it comes to intelligence gathering or covert operations it's a not really "Man From Uncle" stuff.. it's been a shambles..as I say the British intelligence service is no better.

DaveinGermany · 16-01-2010, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

this went the rounds a while ago , but seems to answer your question

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked
by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many
of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom
beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in
return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international
engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a
break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have
you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an
aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he
intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three
hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are
nuclear powered and can supply
emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three
cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they
can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each
day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have
eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies..
At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of
Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a
French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many
languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that
we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his
carry on.

'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked
sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.

'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival
in France !'

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly
explained, 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to
help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a
passport to.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

Hi there Steeljack, I stand by what I've said, you do tend to get wrapped up in yourselves, and don't see the wood for the trees, but I'll give you the points above, there are others I know, but on the beaches of Normandy you weren't alone, the Brits were also there.

British Navy vessels have also played an important role in various operations but we don't have the size of ships you do but we dig in and crack on. Even as I write this our lads are fighting and dying alongside your Lads in Afghan.

I personally worked alongside some of your soldiers back in the late eighties early nineties, that is where I formed my opinions, we were on the same side but couldn't work together because everything was shrouded in secrecy we informed them of our doings so they could get an overview of how it would work, but you wouldn't tell us.

But what really set it apart was the cases of friendly fire, Gulf War 1991, RRF(Royal Regt Fusiliers) lads from my part of the world gone to school with, gone to the footy together, they had one of your Phsy Ops teams assigned so there was a liaison point between the US & UK. A Pair of American fighters chewed up 2 of their Warriors and the lads inside. Oh you asked permission right enough but only of your own command didn't think to ask the Brits, and on top of that if your pilots had paid more attention at AFV recognition, than looking cool the only AFV with that silhouette was the British Warrior.

So maybe you can understand why I have the viewpoint I do.

accyman · 17-01-2010, 08:30

ok ill admit it i need 1 post to play in the arcade but to be fair theres not much going on early sunay morning everyone else has gone to church or somat :-)

SPUGGIE J · 17-01-2010, 08:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by accyman

ok ill admit it i need 1 post to play in the arcade but to be fair theres not much going on early sunay morning everyone else has gone to church or somat :-)

Nope not Church its too far to travel there and be back for bed tonight. So just dossing about the house doing the washing and on the web as must yanks are in bed making it easier.

DaveinGermany · 17-01-2010, 09:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

It seems to be the way with the Americans, they are so enveloped in themselves that they fail to notice what is really going on around them.

Should you be an American viewing this, before you go off on one think about it first, then respond.

I see that I retain my red spot because Mr steeljack didn't appreciate my comments. This again backs up my point about the Americans being "wrapped up in themselves" instead of thinking about it first and asking me why I'm saying this he went straight in with the boot.

Had Mr.Steeljack asked why I have this opinion I would've informed him, instead I had to explain myself in a later post. The Item posted by Mr.Steeljack to emphasise his position sadly relies heavily on past glories, I am not disputing your involvement in the war, but had pearl harbour not been attacked would America have been so willing to enter the fray ? they hadn't been prior to the event.

In 1969 the British Army deployed to Northern Ireland to counter terrorism and this ran on through until 2007, during this time Americans (not all) collected for the IRA to buy arms & ammunition to kill British soldiers, even American weapons were supplied to the terrorists. Gerry Adams was invited over and celebrated as a celebrity!! incredulous. Where was the backup then against terrorism ?

Bush Senior took the Americans into Iraq in 1991, on the clause of defending Kuwait from the evil Iraq dictator Saddam Husseien, who was it Steeljack who put Hussein in his position in the first place ? let me see, oh yes ! the Americans because they wanted him to fight against the Iranians in the 80's !!

Back into Iraq in 2003 Bush Junior up until 2009 British troops have supported the Americans in there fight to stamp out WMD & terrorism, Bush asked Blair said yes, so where are they these WMD objects ? At least Iraq is over but unfortunately Afghanistsan is still going on, and young "British" lads are dying following the American dream, don't get me wrong I feel sorry for your loses as well, but again following your lead how many thousand of young Men do you have over there ? We are a small Island we can't afford to lose to many of our lads, but as long as you don't see what's happening around you, we will suffer more than you.

On a lighter note, you have a Baseball "World series" how many other countries are involved and by the way we invented it ,it was called "Rounders" first mentioned in 1745 in England, first played in the States 1846.

DaveinGermany · 17-01-2010, 11:43

I have one more point to add Mr.Steeljack, throughout my post I was hard but polite, I did no refer to your nations people as "Yanks" which you yourself did as this term is seen as derogatory, I have called you Americans, please keep that in mind before you next slate me.

Benipete · 17-01-2010, 13:30

I believe Belgium are pulling their soldier out.

steeljack · 17-01-2010, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

I have one more point to add Mr.Steeljack, throughout my post I was hard but polite, I did no refer to your nations people as "Yanks" which you yourself did as this term is seen as derogatory, I have called you Americans, please keep that in mind before you next slate me.

Hold up there Sunshine .... take a time out ......red spots /bad karma ? don't come ranting and raving and making accusations without any proof .........I do send good karma out on occasion , but not bad, so get your facts right . Did the bad karma you recieved have a signature ? You can be sure it was not mine, I allways sign mine , and if it was I'm sure one of the moderators can check which ISP address it originated from.
Refering to your mention of using the word "Yanks" in my post ....please point out where I used it ......

On a lighter note, I allways thought the word "Yank" in modern usage went back to the days prior to D Day when American forces were billeted in the UK and one yank was all that was needed to get British womens knickers off

Be back later to respond to your other comments when I've had some breakfast

DaveinGermany · 17-01-2010, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

Hold up there Sunshine .... take a time out ......red spots /bad karma ? don't come ranting and raving and making accusations without any proof .........I do send good karma out on occasion , but not bad, so get your facts right . Did the bad karma you recieved have a signature ? You can be sure it was not mine, I allways sign mine , and if it was I'm sure one of the moderators can check which ISP address it originated from.
Refering to your mention of using the word "Yanks" in my post ....please point out where I used it ......

On a lighter note, I allways thought the word "Yank" in modern usage went back to the days prior to D Day when American forces were billeted in the UK and one yank was all that was needed to get British womens knickers off

Be back later to respond to your other comments when I've had some breakfast

Good morning to you Steeljack, It would appear I have done you a great injustice, straight away for this I apologise. Obviously I have not taken enough care in responding due to a level of annoyance. What has happened is that I received a negative response at or around the same time you responded to my post 2+2 = wrong answer, once again I apologise to you.

That being the case, the anger vented requires redirecting to another source I would say it is not an unreasonable assumption to suppose that the comment stems from one of your Countrymen ? but one who has rather less courage than yourself as they left the comment referring to "Yanks along with a negative response and no name.

Your comment of the origins of the word "Yank" may have some credence but to spare the blushes of our fine British women, let's leave it at that eh ?? Once again I can only apologise to you for a rash assumption, and hope that maybe the originator will show some self respect and come forth.

Eric · 17-01-2010, 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

Hi there Steeljack, I stand by what I've said, you do tend to get wrapped up in yourselves, and don't see the wood for the trees, but I'll give you the points above, there are others I know, but on the beaches of Normandy you weren't alone, the Brits were also there.

British Navy vessels have also played an important role in various operations but we don't have the size of ships you do but we dig in and crack on. Even as I write this our lads are fighting and dying alongside your Lads in Afghan.

I personally worked alongside some of your soldiers back in the late eighties early nineties, that is where I formed my opinions, we were on the same side but couldn't work together because everything was shrouded in secrecy we informed them of our doings so they could get an overview of how it would work, but you wouldn't tell us.

But what really set it apart was the cases of friendly fire, Gulf War 1991, RRF(Royal Regt Fusiliers) lads from my part of the world gone to school with, gone to the footy together, they had one of your Phsy Ops teams assigned so there was a liaison point between the US & UK. A Pair of American fighters chewed up 2 of their Warriors and the lads inside. Oh you asked permission right enough but only of your own command didn't think to ask the Brits, and on top of that if your pilots had paid more attention at AFV recognition, than looking cool the only AFV with that silhouette was the British Warrior.

So maybe you can understand why I have the viewpoint I do.

As usual, Juno Beach seems to have been forgotten

DaveinGermany · 17-01-2010, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric

As usual, Juno Beach seems to have been forgotten

Not forgotten Eric, but I was expressing the views from a British standpoint, the Canadians have also featured heavily in all the allied engagements through out and up to the present day. No definitely not forgotten.

and before someone else gets upset the ANZAC's too.