L_T
I'm disappointed in your comments re this:
The root cause of problematic terrorism is fundamentalist, radical, Islam
So you're saying that it's not problematic when English, Irish, French, South and Central Americans to name a few, die? Oh, yes, only 9/11 and the Islamic terrorists are 'problematic'.
Farkel
thanks, I was getting a bit het up myself, no harm no foul
Now, into the fray !
Why is the Saudi involvement with 9/11 being swept under the rug?
How could you say that? Everyone knows all of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis.
Then where's the repercussions for Saudi Arabia??? Imo, they're interests are intertwined with that of the US, therefore the administration has adopted a 'hands-off our economic allies' policy.
Why is Saddam the objective, when he is not involved with Al Quaeda? Because he one of the worst terrorists in the world.
Al Quaeda was responsible for 9/11, not Saddam, and what about Nigeria, for example, or Haiti? Oh yes, they have no fossil fuels ...
:Why have trade sanctions been imposed on the Iraqi people for the last 12 years, thus making economic recovery practically impossible?
The trade sanctions were contingent upon letter UN inspectors into Iraq to find and dispose of weapons of mass destruction. Sadaam kicked them out. He didn't keep his end of the bargain, and so the sanctioned continued.
There were no WOMD; the administration knew it, and now we know it. That was a smokescreen, Saddam did not pay for this, the common people did. They are the ones who now have no food, water, or electricity. (BTW, yes Saddam IS a monster as are many other current dictators, no argument here)
: Why is your country not addressing the CAUSES of terrorism? Religion is the cause. The Crusades and Inquisition were also acts of terrorism. When someone commits a terrorist act and believes that God not only approves of it, but they will be eternally rewarded for it, it's not an easy thing to "address." You don't negotiate with such people, you don't try to reason with such people. You go out and kill such people.
Oppression is the reason people turn to radical fundamentalism.
The Crusades and Inquisition were acts of terrorism, I agree, but they were perpetrated by the powerful over the poor as a means of control.
This is a case of the poor turning on the powerful, like a chained dog who has been beaten repeatedly and finally turns on its owner, viciously taking out its pain on the inflictor of said pain.
(note: click on http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=1502&StartRow=1&ListRows=10&appendURL=&orderby=D.DateLastUpdated&ProgramID=39&from_page=index.cfm for an analysis of terrorism dating back 2000 years that confirms your statement and shows the difference between the two. Source: Centre for Defense Information An interesting read.)
: It?s the self-righteous ?we?re saving the world? attitude that bothers me. It seems the world only gets saved when it?s convenient, or when the US itself gets attacked, What do you mean by "convenient?"
I mean that the US took no action against terrorists attacked NEW YORK, what about all the other terrorist acts over the last 40 years - palestinian (Black September), IRA, Basque, South America
Do you think our President sits around all day and summons his aides to ask, "is today a convenient day to start a war with some Country?"
Well, maybe, not sure (j/k, a little humour doesn't hurt when debating)
We (and our allies) DID save the world:
Yes, AFTER years of having the world beg for help, and only after Pearl Harbour was attacked. It's the idea of altruism that offends me - the US did not try to save the world, only itself. It was still conducting business with Hitler's Germany long after WWII began.
So, are we better off for "saving the world," or not? Will the Iraqis be better off when their Country is secured and they are free to pursue their dreams?
No, and no. We would be better off solving the problems that cause people to turn to fundamental extremism, because as long as these problems exist, terrorism will rear its ugly head.
Think Che Guevara, think IRA, think Black September. It just seems to me that this is not the way to defeat an evil that has its roots in economic and cultural oppression.
We'll probably never agree, but thanks for listening to my side. It will be interesting to see how events unfold over the next few months, years. I hope we all survive it. Violence begets violence, imho, and our society's capitalistic greed and need for control can only exacerbate the world situation.
We truly need a paradigm shift in attitudes if the human race will survive. It's too bad we (just meaning humans, all of us) can't focus on working towards a new world order that cares about living things instead of the almighty dollar.
And for those of you who may wish to mock me for being idealistic, well go ahead ! So was Ghandi, so was JC, so was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And I have no problem being lumped in with them.
And just for general clarification, I do not agree with a lot of actions taken by Canada and the US in our brief history as nations. I mean, we started off with genocide of the aboriginal peoples. What does that say about us? It says that our society was founded in violence and murder.
It is my feeling that it's good to look into the mirror presented to us by the rest of the world. Oppression exists here - that of the mentally ill, the poor, people of colour and others. Think of the real torture that goes on in prisons. Did anybody watch OZ? So a guy gets drunk, has an accident, spends the next X number of years being raped and tortured. We CONDONE TORTURE. How hypocritical are we?
Just a thought, not to be argumentative. It's just that I have pondererd these issues a lot and it seems to me that we as a society are oh-so-self-righteous whilst ignoring our own human rights violations and the injustices perpetrated upon the weak within our culture.
I think this is a large reason for much of the antipathy the world feels for America right now. As in our personal lives, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Got a bit off-topic there, sorry. I guess I'm all argued-out. This will probly be my last reply, but I am interested in your rebuttal, and will read same with interest. Thanks.
tal