On 2004-10-27 19:44:00, Polarbear .. Screw China-I can't wait to see their own internal contradictions tear their society apart and force them into decline.
As for the middle east, let's not forget they hate us anyway. WE'RE NOT MUSLIMS. That's enough for them.
We also support Israel, which is also sufficient for them to hate us.
You're certainly right about the fact that lots of people in the middle east hate us, and our current occupation of Iraq, and pre-emptive war against them gave them a whole new reason to attack us. A newly energized Jihad against the US.
Certainly, we were correct to attack Al Queda in response to 9/11. Why did we forget about that attack and invade Iraq? They were unrelated. If you think Saddam and Osama were buddys, then you are a victim of the Bush/Cheney misinformation campaign.
You're missing a critical piece of this that is one of the most frightening for me. I am a student of history, I do medieval re-creation for a hobby, and I've studied the rise and fall of the great Empires throuout history. We are currently repeating the same mistakes that led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Too many battles on too many fronts. Too much corruption internally leads to mistrust on the part of the people. The violence against the RNC that you posted about is a case and point example of this.
The world will align itself against us, and is beginning to. The Islamic world is one thing, but the rest of the world now sees America as a threat (except for Britain and it's enormous commonwealth) and even they hate Bush. Watch the House of Commons on C-span sometime. In the meantime, back on the homefront, the polarization of the country is at Vietnam levels, domestic issues don't look promising, and the country seems to be at odds with itself.
After 9/11, the USA was united like I've never seen it. Now it is divided like I've never seen it. I truly believe that this is the result of the Bush Administration's policies on both foreign and domestic issues. They are serving the interests of coorporate lobbyists, and Christian rightists. Grantedly, a large chunk of the population, but not exactly what I call American interests.
It's interesting really...Christians, Muslims, and Jews all worship the same "God". They have fundamentally similar beliefs. They disagree on the role of "prophets" ie: the muslims think Jesus was the prophet sent to the Jews, and that Mohammed was the prophet sent to the world. They do acknowlege the Bible, but think that it was "tainted" by man. The Christians think that Jesus is the only "way" to Heaven, and all others are wrong. The Jews think they have an "Eternal Covenant" with God and will always be "The Chosen People" They worship the same God, value the same principles and yet there have been more murders in the name of that one God than any other cause in human history. Militant Christianity is now in control of the most powerful military force on the planet. They are no more or less radical than the Islamist Extremists upon which they have waged a Holy War.
What Israel has done to the Palestinian people, with full support of the US Christian faction is a humanitarian atrocity. It has been going on for three decades. Why do you think the Palestinians are desperate enough to blow themselves up for the cause? They are horribly oppressed by Isreal. The "Wall" isn't even built within the legitimate "legal" boundaries of Israel. Yet the US supports them. What incredible hipocracy is the Christian faith in America? Bush prays for guidance. You really think that's God's voice in his head???
