Posted on 04/30/2002 2:18:44 PM PDT by LarryLied
I don't believe Americans are seeking catharsis, as you put it, but the government may find that the misdirected policy of claiming nations such as Saudi Arabia to be our friends will push the populace in that direction. God help us if there is another terrorist attack while this diplomatic schizophrenia continues. There may be some grand and unseen plan behind it, but the best laid plans have the potential of backfiring.
I also believe Americans are capable of distinguishing between peaceful Islamic states (of which there are too few) and those who, for whatever reason, wish to destroy the Western world. The same goes for the ability to distinguish between the populace and the governments of these states, although I fear most Americans have lost sympathy for the likes of the Palestinians, the majority of whom seem all to have been poisoned from the same well through the joint efforts of our "friends" in the Middle East.
They are trying to hold on to power is what they are doing. Hezbollah Shi'ite agitators are all over countries such as Bahrain where they are trying to cause an uprising against the Sunni ruling class minority. Desmond Tutu, Mandela and others are helping them try to kick us out of the Gulf states too.
We want these people to stay in our camp and they want to stay. We don't want to have to figure out how to land C-5 Galaxy cargo planes on aircraft carriers should our Muslim allies be overthrown.
But is this true ? What we have heard from most of these Muslim nations is that suicide bombing is justified.
This speech is a continuation of the politically correct mantra which the beltway overlords keep pushing, believing that if they say it often enough, the American public will accept it over our common sense, over what our eyes and ears see and hear.
Sorry, I'm not buying.
Both the Islamic terrorists and, to some extent, Israel have an interest in making both wars into one. That is what the Bush adminstration has been trying to prevent since 9/11.
The only way you'll get the Arabs to stop terrorism is by giving them Stockholm syndrome as G Gordon Liddy said grab them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow.
Right on. Diplomacy games and trying to outfox the foxes are difficult to watch. Plus, I am not sure that our foxes are smarter then theirs. They have more experience in the split tongue speak.
Second point. Everybody there well understand the clear language of the decisive force. You don't have to be particularly mean, but strong and firm and not apologizing for your power. I don't think there is anything what we could have done in the past that could make them love us. But we can make them respect us and make them to be watchful not to step on our toes. Which is exactly the good old policy to "speak softly but carry the big stick". I see nothing wrong in demanding, for example, from Egypt to control their government controlled press so they won't print anti-American and anti-Israeli excitements. Don't we have some small levers of influence, like 2 billion dollars annually? Was not that part of the spirit of Camp-David? The brainwashing of their populace they engaged in is quite effective for one thing, and is controllable for another, because they are all dictatorships.
We don't have to be stupid about it. We don't need to go around making the enemies. But, there are limits of compromise. How far should one go to keep a "friend"? Some of our "friends" are forth than enemy!
They are not united and won't be. We need not fight 1 billion people. Whatever we heard about the "street" is just talks. Take them out one by one starting with Saudis and de-Nazify them and add the Marshall plan. You'll hear just some short screams, but nothing more.
(just kidding...the west is all right and there may even be a little sanity in the east)
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