Apache helicopter fires on crowd

[Adam]

Could you show me where there were kids in the Najaf battle?

This is Najaf, which, according to studentx, was abandoned by the civilian population and now houses only foreign terrorists:

http://www.keralaonline.com/wallimage/spir_mus_wp/najaf.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/31/1062194761688.html
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/index090103.html
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0308/gallery.najaf.bombing/4.gallery.najaf.reut.jpg
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/21/1058639726156.html


Ooh, here are some nasty looking terrorists:
http://www.theage.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1048962894035_2003/04/04/4n_Najaf,0.jpg
http://i-cias.com/e.o/ill/najaf03.jpg

 

[Monique]

Is there something in the air that is causing people to clash? Really, why is everyone argueing? Rather have a decent discussion or walk away from the issue.

 

[studentx]

1st pic: irrelevant, way before the battle with US and Iraqi police.
2nd pic: civilians killed in blast caused by insurgents/terrorists way before the battle with US and Iraqi police
3rd pic: Ayatollah killed by insurgents way before the battle with US and Iraqi police
4th pic: civilians killed by carbomb from insurgents way before the battle with US and Iraqi police.
5th pic: irrelevant, way before the battle with US and Iraqi police.
6th pic: irrelevant, way before the battle with US and Iraqi police.
7th pic: irrelevant, way before the battle with US and Iraqi police.

Truth is, Najaf WAS abandoned by the civilian population at the time the battle began, it was basically hijacked by foreign insurgents who didnt live in Najaf and they were asked to leave repeatedly by the civilian population.

 

[JohnDubYa]

Sorry, wrong thread..

 

[plover]

As the first plane hit at 8:46 and most financial people start work at 8:00 or 8:30 (markets open at 9:00)

The WTC generally housed around 50,000 people during a working day, plus around 150,000 visitors. Most arrived after 9 AM. Clearly, since there were not 50,000 casualties, you are basically wrong when you say most of them started work there at 8:00 or 8:30 AM.

Again, factually inaccurate, and, I can only conclude, an intentional lie. You of course know that virtually everyone who died was above the crashes and everyone who lived below.

1. The figure of 50,000 is apparently accurate for the number of workers.
2. The fact that certain types of financial workers have a schedule tied to the opening bell at the stock exchange does not mean they all do. Plus not everyone who worked in the WTC worked in finance.
3. The figure of 150,000 is in the right ballpark for the daily number of visitors (one source says 200,000). Of course, this figure says nothing about the time distribution of visitors over a typical day.
4. The number of people killed in the collapse says little about the total number of people in the buildings at the time of impact as large numbers of people fled the buildings (and firemen entered).
5. Any stated intentions on the part of Al Qaeda members may or may not be propaganda, or (if found in documents made before the attack) may or may not have been viable in the final plan.

My conclusion is that not enough data has been supplied for a coherent argument either for or against the thesis that the crashes were timed for maximum occupancy. It doesn't seem like there could be an easy argument that the attack was timed to minimize loss of life, though again, we don't know how much choice they had in this matter after solving the airport logistics.

If I read something that seemed off the wall, I hope I'd question whether or not I understood the author's thinking (i.e. whether the most obvious meaning of their statement and the intended meaning of their statement actually coincide) before suggesting they must be lying...