The 9/11 attacks were an act of frustration.
One way of looking at it, I suppose.
Hundreds of millions of muslims live under brutal dictators. Their friends and relatives are murdered and tortured by these sadistic leaders.
True
These oppressive dictators recieve massive amounts of money and weapons from the US.
Some of them.
The people know that without America's support. These dictators could easily be over thrown.
Maybe.
Saddam was a perfect example of the kind of dictators we have supported. (before we turned against him.
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Then we wonder why people in Islamic countries cheered when they heard about 9/11
I didn't wonder.
Tell you what I DO wonder about though..
I wonder why the people in those nations don't attack their own leaders more often?
Here's what I think, Sunni...I think the religion of Islam is so all emcompassing that if retards human individual development, and naturally from that you end up with a retardation of social development in the aggregate.
I think that the nature of many Arab culture is feudal even if their governments report to be something other than that.
I think that the Arab culture is basically set up by history --- family ties, leading to clan ties, leading to strong man poltics and so forth -- that are very primative and not at all prone to rewarding personal innovation or personal development.
It appears to me to be a very
TOP DOWN culture, Sunni.
I think because of those social morays and cultural values, it does not develop as quickly as Western cultures do because it retards human freedom.
And while I agree with you that the West will work with dictators in the Arab world, and while I am inclined to think corporations are more than happy to help those dictators stay in power if it makes doing business in those places easier?
I ALSO think if America and the West had NOTHING WHATEVER TO DO WITH THE ARAB ISLAMIC WORLD, it would still be behind the curve in qaulity of life comparisons to the WESTERN cultures.
You want to know the two biggest things which I think really retard the Arab culture today?
The fact that they hate Jews (who bring good things to every culture they are welcomed in); and
The fact that the Arab cultures are so fucking sexist that they lose the potential of HALF their culture's people.
But hey...if that's what they want out of life and their society, then I say
let them have it.
Sooner or later, they're find a path that can meld their cultural values and STILL gives their people greater freedom just as we in the WEST had to do consistently in the last 500 years.
If you go back into the history of the WESTERN culture, it looks remarkably like the Islamic culture does now.
It hated Jews, it oppressed woman, it was ALWAYS STRONG MAN poltics.
It was extremely classist, and it centered its power around religion.
In other words, we WERE what much of Islam, and certainly the Islamic fundamentalists want for their people today.
How Islam went from the most prgressive culture on earth to one of the least progressive is a sad story of the excesses of Empire, I think.
I really think that the Arab world is trying to get out of its own DARK AGES right now.
Sadly the only revolutionaries these people seem to be able to rally around are religious fundamentalists.