And a damn shame too.....
Whether or not you respect Bush, the problem isn't from the US or Western Civilization. The problem is Islam.That's like us sitting around the table, and by our silence, and lack of action, allowing people, that use our religion, to bring terror, and death in our name.
Someone once said "Before you remove the splinter from your neighbor's eye, remove the plank from your own.
Is the muslim world complicit? Sure. They practically have a collective heart attack over a cartoon in a Dutch newspaper but are oblivious to the events swirling around them at home. There's something very, very odd about that.
But we have a Dear Leader of our own who is visiting death and destruction on others in our name because he believes God told him to do so. So.....is there THAT much difference between us'n and them all?
Gotta agree with your last post, Kathianne. Your suggestions are reasonable and sensible.
I do not pretend to know all that there is to know about this, but I have the impression from my readings to date that there has been an unholy alliance over the past 70 years or so between the US, the Saudis and the radical Saudi clerics who have created the virulent strain of Islam known as Wahabism. Saudi Arabia keeps popping up in all discussions. Young, impressionable Saudis gravitated to Afghanistan, with US encouragement, to oppose the Soviet occupation. Saudis formed the majority of the 9/11 attackers. And the Saudi government, with its vast number of princes (am I correct that King Saud had 80 some odd children? I think so) has basically turned a blind eye to the cancer growing in its midsts in order to cling to its own power. The glue, if you will, that holds this entire enterprise together is, of course, oil.
I will leave it there, so as not to drag the conversation too far afield. But I would appreciate feedback on this. I feel we are close to the nub of the problem - an understanding we must acquire if we are to interrupt the circuit that drives this pernicious system.
The underlying hope of the Iraqi escapade has been that it would blast the muslim world out of the 14th century mentality they have been happy to maintain until now. But, the impetus to acquire and maintain power is stronger than the desire for money, or sex, or fame. It is the central element of the human psyche. So many of the Middle Eastern countries are petrified of getting off the merry-go-round because it may mean giving up their power.
Some people propose a national initiative to promote alternative energy sources NOT because they are afraid of global warming or are Sierra Club tree huggers, but because it is the one sure way of shutting off the flow of money to those who would do us harm. From a strictly cold, calculating political point of view, it may make a lot of sense. Perhaps this thread has been stretched to its limits and a new one called for? I don't know. About the ONLY thing I am sure of is that shouting at each other gets us no closer to a solution.
Gotta agree with your last post, Kathianne. Your suggestions are reasonable and sensible.
I do not pretend to know all that there is to know about this, but I have the impression from my readings to date that there has been an unholy alliance over the past 70 years or so between the US, the Saudis and the radical Saudi clerics who have created the virulent strain of Islam known as Wahabism. Saudi Arabia keeps popping up in all discussions. Young, impressionable Saudis gravitated to Afghanistan, with US encouragement, to oppose the Soviet occupation. Saudis formed the majority of the 9/11 attackers. And the Saudi government, with its vast number of princes (am I correct that King Saud had 80 some odd children? I think so) has basically turned a blind eye to the cancer growing in its midsts in order to cling to its own power. The glue, if you will, that holds this entire enterprise together is, of course, oil.
I will leave it there, so as not to drag the conversation too far afield. But I would appreciate feedback on this. I feel we are close to the nub of the problem - an understanding we must acquire if we are to interrupt the circuit that drives this pernicious system.
The underlying hope of the Iraqi escapade has been that it would blast the muslim world out of the 14th century mentality they have been happy to maintain until now. But, the impetus to acquire and maintain power is stronger than the desire for money, or sex, or fame. It is the central element of the human psyche. So many of the Middle Eastern countries are petrified of getting off the merry-go-round because it may mean giving up their power.
Some people propose a national initiative to promote alternative energy sources NOT because they are afraid of global warming or are Sierra Club tree huggers, but because it is the one sure way of shutting off the flow of money to those who would do us harm. From a strictly cold, calculating political point of view, it may make a lot of sense. Perhaps this thread has been stretched to its limits and a new one called for? I don't know. About the ONLY thing I am sure of is that shouting at each other gets us no closer to a solution.
Come on GUnny, don't toy with him.
